Boston Red Sox right fielder JD Martinez has been forced to defend a pro-Second Amendment Instagram post he made almost 6 years ago after several MLB players were targeted for allegedly offensive social media behavior.
Martinez spoke to the Boston Globe about the post, which referenced the anti-gun policies in Nazi Germany. Critics contended that the post signaled a de facto endorsement of Adolf Hitler and Nazism, although any rational person would be able to tell that it was quite the opposite.
According to Martinez, the post was intended to defend the Second Amendment as a check against tyranny — not exactly an unpopular view.
“I didn’t mean any harm by the pic,” the baseball star told the Boston Globe. “It was more of a picture showing what my stand was on the Second Amendment. At the time I posted that, the Second Amendment at the time was definitely a hot topic. The point of it wasn’t to offend anybody.”
Martinez went on to condemn dictatorships as a whole, noting his own personal experience.
“As most of you guys know, I’m Cuban-American. Most of my family was run out of Cuba because of a brutal dictator. It’s terrible. It’s one of those things where I’ll never get to meet some of my family members because of it. It’s one of those things where I was really touched at the time,” he said. “I saw it and I posted it. I had no intent to offend anyone, but it was mostly just to state a point – a political point at the time that I believe in. I posted it and that’s one thing that, I love my country. I love this country. I stand by the Constitution and the Second Amendment. It’s something that I take pride in and it’s something that I’ll back up.”
Martinez then tried to turn the direction back to baseball.
“I’m here to play baseball guys. I’m not a politician. I’m not here to talk about politics. I’m here to help us win,” the slugger went on. “This was something that happened six years ago. In this day and age, it’s something where you really have to be really careful what you talk about. That’s why I don’t talk about politics. I don’t want this distraction.”
~ Firearm Daily
