Toronto Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins did not mince words when it came to his frustration with slugger Anthony Santander’s posting of Islamophobic videos on his Instagram account in the wake of last Tuesday night’s United States midterm elections.
Santander, 32, eventually deleted the videos including one that said “there is no such thing as good Muslims.” The Blue Jays issued a statement through a spokesperson in the wake of the posts, distancing themselves from Santander.
Atkins, speaking at Major League Baseball’s GM Meetings in Las Vegas, says he expressed his feelings to Santander personally and called on him to apologize.
“There really aren’t words to express my level of disappointment with him making those comments,” Atkins said. “I’ve expressed that to him … anything exacerbating some level of anti-Islamic hate is just extremely concerning, extremely disappointing. I also talked to Anthony about his lack of awareness.”
A native of Margarita, Venezuela, Santander missed the entirety of the 2026 season after having surgery on his left shoulder. His comeback in the summer was put on ice when he felt something in the same shoulder in mid-July.
Santander signed a five-year, $92.5 million deal with the team ahead of the 2025 season. He’s only appeared in 54 total games since joining the team.
An All-Star in 2024, Santander spent the first eight seasons of his career with the Baltimore Orioles.