The Left is already demanding punishment after an MLB All-Star called out Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed (D-MI) — and political Islam — in the wake of Tuesday’s midterms.
Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Anthony Santander, an All-Star in 2024 before suffering a major shoulder injury during his team’s American League championship run the following year, reshared two videos to his Instagram story after Michigan elected El-Sayed as the next U.S. senator from that state.
One was captioned “America voted for Sharia Last Night.” The other was titled “Islam is not peaceful.”
Ah, it seems like only yesterday people could state the obvious without fear of repercussions. But that was a bygone era. Early Tuesday, to be exact.
Now, the Left smells blood in the water, and they’re not going to let criticism of radical Islam stand anymore.
The posts were quickly pulled, but not before screenshots spread and critics branded them “Islamophobia,” with some openly hoping the Blue Jays would punish Santander.
I’m all for free speech, but this is extremely disgusting and flat out disrespectful stuff shared by Anthony Santander. Islamophobia is never acceptable, and I hope the @BlueJays take the appropriate action, considering they have some Muslim employees as well. https://t.co/F3VV9cgMLH
— Omer Osman (@OmerOsman200) November 5, 2026
A team spokesman certainly suggested they would comply with the outrage mob, telling The Athletic that Santander’s comments “do not represent our organization’s values and beliefs.”
“Baseball is for everyone,” the club added, “and the Blue Jays have created an inclusive experience where all fans feel welcome at our ballpark.”
For everyone? Well, no. Not really.
This wouldn’t be the first time the Jays have moved against a player for sharing the wrong opinion on social media. In May 2023, reliever Anthony Bass posted an Instagram video calling for Christians to boycott Target and Bud Light over their support of the “pride” community.
Eleven days later — and just hours before he was slated to catch a ceremonial first pitch on the opening night of Pride Weekend — Toronto designated Bass for assignment. He was released days later.
The team called it a “baseball decision” and said it was tied to Bass’ “performance” on the field. But as ESPN reported at the time, the Blue Jays front office refused to say whether the pitcher would still have been on the team if his performance had been better.
Will another “baseball decision” be on the horizon for Santander? If the social media mob has any say, it certainly will.
“Disgusting behavior,” one fan fumed. “Waive him.”
Amira Elghawaby, Canada’s former Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia, said deleting the posts isn’t enough, Santander “owes fans an apology,” and the Blue Jays “need to take a stronger stand.”
One individual replied, “Imagine if he had said this about Judaism.”
Funny thing, that. Especially when one considers that the criticism is of El-Sayed, who once stated that the Israeli government is just as “evil” as Hamas, and that the response to the October 7 terrorist attack made that government “pretty damn evil.”
As for Santander’s specific comments, El-Sayed once openly expressed a lifelong “obligation” to follow Sharia law in certain aspects of life and openly palled around with an influencer who openly stated that “America deserved 9/11.”
Trump: El-Sayed would be the only senator that will have to go through a metal detector before he’s allowed to go into the Senate. I want him to have a metal detector https://t.co/secPYORCwe
— Acyn (@Acyn) October 25, 2026
It’ll be interesting to see what the Blue Jays do with Santander.
After a shoulder injury kept him off the field for much of the season, and with a .175 average in the 54 games he did play, my guess is that the club will find it an easier call this time to dress up a culture-war problem as a “baseball decision.”
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