Michael Kopech is the latest athlete to have his old tweets exposed on social media and end up cleaning things up.
Kopech, a top prospect in MLB, was called up by the Chicago White Sox to make his debut on Tuesday. The 22-year-old pitched two scoreless innings before a rain delay cut short his debut.
On Tuesday night, some of his old, inappropriate tweets circulated on Twitter. You can see them here.
Kopech has since deleted the tweets and expressed remorse over them in comments to the Chicago Sun-Times’ Madeline Kenney.
“Things I said that were immature and inappropriate. I used some poor language in there. Obviously, I’m trying to be looked at as a role model and the last thing I want to do is have some kid look at what I’m saying and take it the wrong way,” Kopech told Kenney.
“It’s unfortunate that I was ever at that point mentally but it’s not who I am now. Yeah, I cleaned some tweets up and tried to get rid of them. But, obviously, people saw them. It’s not who I am now and it’s not who I want to be. It was something I did in high school, and with everything I’ve gone through in pro ball the last five seasons I feel like a big part of my career was maturing. Hate to see it but it’s not who I am anymore.”
Kopech noted that the tweets were sent when he was 17 years old and in high school. As he said, he has matured since then.
Young athletes having old, inappropriate tweets exposed when they become famous has become a trend in the sports world. It happened to Donte Divincenzo during the national championship game; Josh Allen prior to the NFL Draft; and Josh Hader during the MLB All-Star Game.
Athletes probably should not be held as responsible for things they said when they were 17 as if they said them as adults in their 20s or 30s, so long as they’re remorseful and regretful. Kopech has shown that. And while it doesn’t excuse his past tweets, this does show his desire to be seen in a better light.
