First, it was an attack on Twitter towards Curt Schilling‘s daughter. Schilling handled it famously well, it made national news, and it didn’t end so well for those involved. And rightfully so. Lesson learned, right?
Well, now entering the stage would be one Joey Casselberry, the now-former junior first baseman for Division II Bloomsburg (PA) University. Mr. Casselberry hasn’t had a very good last few days.
Last week Disney announced that development was underway for a biographical film about Mo’ne Davis, titled “Throw Like Mo.” Late Friday night, upon learning this news, Joey Casselberry decided to put his opinion about Mo’ne on Twitter for all to see. Just one major issue: When you’re a grown man, playing college baseball, it’s really not a great idea to say the kind of thing that he said to a 13-year-old child. In case you missed it, the tweet that caused the problems from the now-deactivated Twitter account from Casselberry was: “Disney is making a movie about Mo’ne Davis? WHAT A JOKE. That sl** got rocked by Nevada.” Let me just remind you again, Mo’Ne Davis is 13 years old. Joey Casselberry is a junior in college. Let’s forget the difference in gender just for a moment. Dude, is there nothing better for you to do at 11:30 on a Friday night than to insult a child?
Bloomsburg University immediately did the right thing and dismissed Casselberry from the team, releasing the following statement via Twitter:
Bloomsburg Univ is deeply saddened by what was written about #MoneDavis by one of our student-athletes. His words do not represent us.
— BU Huskies (@GoBUHuskies) March 21, 2015
We take matter very seriously; addressed the issue with the student-athlete (who has been dismissed from team), coach, and the team.
— BU Huskies (@GoBUHuskies) March 21, 2015
But then today, in a class act that so many in the world (not just in sports) could learn from, Mo’ne Davis appeared live on SportsCenter and revealed that she had emailed Bloomsburg University and requested that the school reinstate Casselberry to the team. In the video clip above, and on EspnW, Davis said, “Everyone makes mistakes, everyone deserves a second chance. I know he didn’t mean it in that type of way. I know people get tired of seeing me on TV. But sometimes you got to think about what you’re doing before you do it. It hurt on my part, but he hurt even more. If it was me, I would want to take that back. I know how hard he’s worked. Why not give him a second chance?”
While Bloomsburg says it respects Davis’ opinion and praised her for being incredibly mature about the situation, the school told TMZ Sports that it will not reinstate Casselberry, saying, “Right now we’re standing firm.”
This young lady just continues to impress. Not only on the pitchers mound, or on the basketball court, but also out in the real world. To be called the name that she was called, only because she can throw a fastball, and was chosen by Disney to have a movie of her life made, and then to turn around and request the school to reinstate the offending individual is nothing short of classy.
I’m sure Joey Casselberry is in hiding right now, or maybe getting a well-deserved lecture from his mother on how to talk to a child, but I do hope one day he is fortunate enough to get the chance to meet Mo’ne Davis in person. Because he could learn two or three things from her on how to be a decent human being, maybe making him a better ballplayer and teammate going forward should he get the opportunity to play again one day.
Thank you Mo’ne for showing us all how to act like grown-ups in a bad situation.
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