Blue Jays apologize to Muslim community and fans in wake of Santander’s posts

TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays apologized Thursday to the Muslim community and the team’s fans for the “pain and harm” caused by outfielder Anthony Santander’s social media posts.

Santander shared anti-Muslim posts last week and deleted them two days later.

“We met with leaders in Toronto’s Muslim communities today, who shared the harm caused by Anthony Santander’s Islamophobic social media posts,” team president and chief executive officer Mark Shapiro said in a statement. “The opportunity to listen and learn was important and reaffirms our beliefs and values as an organization. We condemn Islamophobia and all forms of hate.

“The Blue Jays are deeply sorry to the Muslim community and our fans for the pain and harm these Islamophobic posts have caused. We will work with leaders in Muslim communities to fight against all forms of hate. The Blue Jays will continue to ensure our organization reflects the inclusive community we are proud to call home.”

Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins, speaking Tuesday at Major League Baseball’s GM meetings in Las Vegas, said he recently spoke with Santander and asked him to publicly address the controversy.

However, Santander has yet to publicly comment or apologize. The 32-year-old Venezuelan and the sports management agency that represents him have not responded to multiple messages.

“There really aren’t words to express my level of disappointment,” Atkins told reporters.

Santander shared posts in the aftermath of the U.S. midterm elections last week.

The videos included a Christian preacher saying, “There is no such thing as kind Muslims,” with another suggesting Sharia law would be imposed on the U.S. after Abdul El-Sayed was elected to the Senate in Michigan.

Santander didn’t play at the big-league level last season due to injuries. He signed a five-year, US$92.5-million deal with Toronto in January 2025.

The Blue Jays are the only MLB team in Canada, which has a population of over 1.78 million Muslims, per 2021 census data from Statistics Canada. About 10 per cent of Toronto’s 2.8 million residents identify as Muslim, the agency said.

Steven Zhou, the media and communications lead for the National Council of Canadian Muslims, said several community advocates were on hand for the meeting, which lasted about an hour.

“This is an initial meeting and we considered it a positive step in the right direction,” he said Thursday night. “Because there is a commitment to putting this player through training, and also there was a public statement apologizing for what happened from the CEO and from the organization itself, these are all very positive signs.

“The next step, of course, we would like to see an apology from the player himself and an expression from him about why this is wrong, and an expression also about trying to build a positive way forward.”

In an interview earlier in the week, Zhou said Santander’s posts had a significant impact on the community.

“I think some people might be surprised at just how many Muslims are fans of baseball and the Blue Jays, and Toronto is a massive sports city,” Zhou said. “The kind of response I’ve gotten from our community members from different circles, from various people, has been unbelievable. People are very, very upset.”

It remains unclear whether the Blue Jays will discipline Santander. There are also unanswered questions remaining about how potential social media policy and morality clause contract violations might be handled.

Messages left with the team, and club owner Rogers Communications Inc., on those subjects were not immediately returned.

Santander hit 44 homers for the Baltimore Orioles in 2024 but hit just .175 with six homers over 54 games in an injury-plagued 2025 season with Toronto.

He’s expected to be healthy for the 2027 season and become an everyday player again.

Spring training is scheduled to begin in February but there is a strong possibility an MLB lockout will begin next month when the current collective bargaining agreement expires.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2026.

Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press