Sean Doolittle (Photo courtesy of MLB)

Washington Nationals relief pitcher Sean Doolittle has spoken out about the homophobic and racist tweets that have resurfaced from a few of his MLB peers.

Atlanta Braves pitcher Sean Newcomb, Milwaukee Brewers relief pitcher Josh Hader and Doolittle’s Nationals teammate, shortstop Trea Turner, found themselves under fire after offensive tweets they posted as teens circulated online. All three have apologized.

Doolittle, who was also the Washington Blade’s 2018 Sports issue cover star, posted a Twitter thread responding to the controversies in the league.

“It’s been a tough couple of weeks for baseball on twitter,” Doolittle writes. “It sucks to see racist and homophobic language coming from inside our league—a league I’m so proud to be a part of that I’ve worked really hard to make a more accepting and inclusive place for all our fans to enjoy.”

It’s been a tough couple of weeks for baseball on twitter. It sucks to see racist and homophobic language coming from inside our league – a league I’m so proud to be a part of that I’ve worked really hard to make a more accepting and inclusive place for all our fans to enjoy.

— Sean Doolittle (@whatwouldDOOdo) July 30, 2018

“Homophobic slurs are still used to make people feel soft or weak or otherwise inferior – which is bullshit. Some of the strongest people I know are from the LGBTQIA community. It takes courage to be your true self when your identity has been used as an insult or a pejorative,” he continued. “It’s a privilege to play in the major leagues and we have an obligation to leave the game better than we found it. There’s no place for racism, insensitive language or even casual homophobia. I hope we can learn from this and make the MLB a place where all our fans feel welcome.”