Yankees’ Sonny Gray Deletes Twitter Account After Insensitive Tweet, Calls 2012 Post ‘Inside Joke’ [VIDEO]

New York Yankees pitcher Sonny Gray is facing backlash for two reasons this week.

Yankees’ Sonny Gray Says Racist Tweet Was ‘Inside Joke’

First, the 28-year-old starter allowed eight hits, seven runs and two walks in the Yankees’ 7-5 home loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday. Gray left the field after 2 2/3 innings in which he delivered one of his worst outings this season, the latest in a string of terrible performances. To make matters worse, Gray was seen smiling as he walked off the field to boos from fans.

Gray’s second mistake was regarding an off-the-field issue: a tweet that the pitcher posted in September 2012 that was perceived as racist resurfaced on Wednesday.

“@Sir_Peanut 1. You didn’t go to college. 2. You are black. #followdaleaderleaderleader clap clap clap,” Gray wrote at the time. The pitcher, who on Wednesday appeared to delete his entire Twitter account, claimed the tweet was “an inside joke” aimed at a friend.

SLIDESHOW: 30 Best Sports Instagrams! 

The friend in question? Rashun Dixon, a black baseball player who was Gray’s teammate on the Oakland Athletics.

Dixon’s @Sir_Peanut Twitter account has now been closed. Gray claimed his account was once hacked and that he has enlisted help from people to run his Twitter page, and did not explicitly apologize for the tweet.

“I’m not scared of my past. My past has helped shape who I am today,” Gray told ESPN. “If people want to try and question who I am, I’ll face that head on because I’m not scared of my past. Everything that’s happened in my past has done nothing but make me a better man.”

After Wednesday’s game, Gray insisted to reporters that it was absurd for anyone to think the old tweet about Dixon was anything other than a joke.

“I’m comfortable with who I am,” said Gray. “You can ask anyone in this clubhouse who I am and what I’m about. … If people are trying to dig stuff up, then ask [Dixon]. If people are gonna try to question my integrity and question who I am, then so be it, because I know who I am and if you know me, you know who I am.”

30 SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2018 – TRIBUTE SLIDESHOW

Gray is the fourth MLB player in the last three weeks to face controversy for offensive tweets. Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Josh Hader, Washington Nationals shortstop Trea Turner and Braves left-hander Sean Newcomb were all criticized last month for racist and homophobic Twitter posts they shared years prior as teenagers.

Gray joined the Yankees in July 2017 after spending his first four seasons in Oakland. He is currently 8-8 with a 5.56 ERA.