Dexter Fowler Criticized Trump And Was Ruthlessly Attacked By Cardinals Fans


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Dexter Fowler recently signed a five-year, $82.5 million contract with the St. Louis Cardinals after operating as an integral part of the 2016 World Series champion Chicago Cubs. The veteran outfielder is probably not a full-blown superstar, but Fowler is one of the best players at his position in baseball and fans of the Cardinals should be overjoyed that he elected to ink a deal with their team. However, a selection of fans had the exact opposite reaction to Fowler recently and it crossed the line in a big way.

President Donald Trump’s proposed travel ban directly affected Fowler, as his wife, Darya Aliya Baghbani, was born in Iran. In response to his wife reportedly putting off a business trip to avoid detainment, Fowler indicated to ESPN’s Mark Saxon, “It’s huge. Especially any time you’re not able to see family, it’s unfortunate.” That prompted a wide swath of Cardinals fans to blast Fowler on Facebook and the responses were captured for all to see.

One of the most egregious comments read as follows:

“He signed a contract with the Cardinals so that makes him property of stl cardinals and mlb so he needs to keep his mouth shut. His personal opinions, problems, beliefs and political views should be kept to himself as long as he’s under a mlb contract and before anymore b.s. is sad i’ve read the article and it’s not our fault he married someone from another country.”

As you may expect, Fowler did not accept the notion that he is “property” of the organization and that he should be treated differently due to the country of origin of his wife.

Fowler did try to spin things in a positive direction by instituting a ticket giveaway on Twitter, but it was clear he was aware of the backlash to his comments.

It is, frankly, amazing (in the worst way) that thinking like this remains in 2017 and Fowler is right to push back against it. The Cardinals willingly entered into a contract with Fowler that will pay him handsomely, but that does not restrict his ability to speak his mind on an issue that directly impacts his life and to say otherwise is decisively off-base. It has to be noted that not every fan of the St. Louis Cardinals feels this way but Dexter Fowler exposed those who do while simultaneously taking the high road.

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