Major League Baseball is looking into a tweet by umpire Rob Drake threatening a civil war if President Donald Trump is impeached.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, Drake tweeted a promise to purchase an assault rifle in response to the House of Representatives’ impeachment proceedings against President Trump. The tweet, which was deleted shortly after its original posting, promised “ANOTHER CIVAL [sic] WAR” if “MY PRESIDENT” is impeached “this way.”
Major league umpire Rob Drake tweeted “I will be buying an AR-15 tomorrow, because if you impeach MY PRESIDENT this way, YOU WILL HAVE ANOTHER CIVAL WAR!!! #MAGA2020”, according to a copy of the tweet obtained by ESPN. MLB says it is aware of it. News: https://t.co/Qf7VMAXEoJ
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 23, 2019
In another tweet which remains on his account, per Passan’s story, Drake criticized House Democrats for pursuing an impeachment inquiry “from the basement of Capital Hill without even a vote.” His Twitter account primarily consists of pro-Trump retweets.
Through a spokesperson, MLB said it is looking into the tweet. MLB Umpires Association head Joe West declined comment.
While entities like MLB generally won’t take action against politically-themed tweets, things can change when the content is deemed to be violent, bigoted, or represents poorly on the employer. That’s what led to Curt Schilling’s firing at ESPN. It remains to be seen if Drake will face any punishment or will simply be told in private to cool it a little.
