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Yankees' Nestor Cortes Deactivates Twitter Account After Tweets With Slurs Surface
May 16, 2022
New York Yankees starting pitcher Nestor Cortes has deactivated his Twitter account after tweets surfaced from over 10 years ago that included racial slurs.
According to ESPN, Cortes appeared to be quoting rap lyrics in some of the tweets, and he didn't appear to be "using the words to demean anyone directly."
Cortes apologized for the tweets when speaking to reporters on Monday before New York's game against the Baltimore Orioles.
"I felt like it wasn't the right message that I wanted to send out, when I was 17 years old," Cortes said. "Those happened 10 years ago. I deactivated my Twitter to clean stuff up."
He added, "It's not acceptable. I think I could have managed myself and said stuff differently. But I'm here today to say that I'm going to work on it and fix it."
Cortes has been one of the best pitchers in the majors so far this season, putting together a breakout year. In seven starts, he has a 2-1 record with a 1.35 ERA, which ranks second in MLB. He's thrown 49 strikeouts against just 11 walks in 40 innings with a 0.85 WHIP.
The 27-year-old said he's disappointed in himself because he tries to use social media as a way to inspire people. He said he plans on reactivating his account soon.
"I hope to be back in the next few days," Cortes said. "I like to attract people like me, not the prototype 6-foot-5, 97 [mph pitcher]. For the last two or three years, I’ve been pretty positive on Twitter. When I saw that I was a little pissed off at myself."