'Territories we stand upon across Turtle Island': Toronto Blue Jays open MLB season with land acknowledgement

'Territories we stand upon across Turtle Island': Toronto Blue Jays open MLB season with land acknowledgement



For the third straight year, Major League Baseball's Toronto Blue Jays opened its season at home with an acknowledgement that the team is actually playing on Indigenous land.

It is also the fourth season the team has included land acknowledgements at home games. Since late September 2021, the Blue Jays organization — along with pro teams the Toronto Raptors and Toronto Maple Leafs — has declared before games that Rogers Centre is actually on the "traditional territory" of native people.

This declaration was made around the time Canada recognized National Day for Truth and Reconciliation as a holiday in the country, which was previously known as Orange Shirt Day, and was celebrated as such by the Toronto sports teams, per the National Post.

The Blue Jays has recognized that its organization is "based on Treaty 13 lands – traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit," its website has described. It also recognizes that the team is "located on the traditional home of many other nations including the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Chippewa, and Wendat Peoples."

Anishinaabeg, for example, is not a specific tribe, rather it is a series of tribes grouped seemingly for the purpose of referring to the region around the Great Lakes in the United States and Canada, typically for political activism.

"We are honored to work with and learn from communities all across this country now referred to as Canada," the official acknowledgement continued. "Therefore, we want to acknowledge all First Nations, Inuit, and Metis peoples whose original and treaty territories we stand upon across Turtle Island (aka, North America)."

In honour of Orange Shirt Day, a land acknowledgement and artwork by Philip Cote – an artist and Ancestral Knowledge Keeper from Moose Deer Point First Nation – has been installed at Rogers Centre outside at Gate 15 and inside at Section 102. pic.twitter.com/em2NFA6O5k
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) September 30, 2021

The more recent iteration of the land acknowledgment varies greatly from that of 2021, which was authored by a Canadian "artist and Ancestral Knowledge Keeper."

This rendition included acknowledgement of "our Mother the Earth" and the "Seven Grandfather teachings: Wisdom, Bravery, Respect, Honesty, Truth, Humility, and Love."

It also made sure to acknowledge the "medicine wheel and its teachings," in addition to the four cardinal directions and all four seasons.

The Blue Jays organization has certainly worked in a series of political dedications as part of its ongoing reconciliation project.

This has included providing "anti-racism awareness and training programs" and adhering to the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

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MLB pitcher reveals 'life lesson' for his young son after critics hate on him for photo of successful hunting trip



Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Erik Swanson is defending his decision to take his son on a hunting trip.

Over the weekend, Swanson posted a photo to Instagram showing him and his son posing in front of a successful hunt of more than a dozen geese they had killed in Minnesota.

For Swanson, the picture depicted a moment of jubilation and father-son bonding. But others were not so happy about Swanson's hunting.

Critics called the picture "disturbing and disgusting," saying that hunting is "so cruel." At least one person warned the picture would sink his MLB career because he plays for a Canadian team and hunted geese. One critic even said Swanson's hunting disqualifies him from being a parent, claiming he is teaching his son to kill innocent animals.

On Tuesday, Swanson posted a statement to X defending the hunting trip.

According to the Blue Jays relief pitcher, the hunting trip was not just about spending quality time with his son. Rather, he hoped the trip would teach his son a valuable life lesson.

"I am an avid hunter/fisherman and I will always be," Swanson said.

"For the people who are asking me why I have my son with me, I am teaching him a very important life lesson," he explained, "the beef, venison, poultry, fish, fruits and vegetables all come from somewhere, not just the grocery store. Now when he hunts and he harvests his own food, he knows exactly where his food is coming from and what is in it."

— (@)

"Next time you go to the grocery store or restaurant and order something, remember that it had to come from somewhere. Know what you are eating! Safe hunting to all!" he added.

Fortunately, the negative attention attracted supporters who celebrated Swanson and drowned out his haters.

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Toronto Blue Jays pitcher COWERS before woke mob over stance on Target boycott



The woke mob has claimed another victim.

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Anthony Bass shared a video to his social media of Ryan Miller, a Christian influencer.

Now Bass is paying the price.

In that video, Miller made the case for boycotting Target by quoting Ephesians chapter five: “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful to even talk of the things that they do in secret.”

Miller believes that in order to “take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness,” one must stop giving one's money to corporations like Target, which target children.

Sara Gonzales of "The News & Why It Matters" is not amused.

While Bass simply shared the video, Gonzales can see why he’s in trouble.

“You’re not allowed to do that these days. The Alphabet Mafia rules all. You are to bend the knee to the rainbow at whatever the cost —your religion be damned. The only religion allowed to survive now is the total complete submission to the LGBT agenda,” she said.

Bass apologized for reposting the video, saying that he recognized it was “hurtful to the Pride community,” and that “the ballpark is for everyone.”

“Hmm, the ballpark is for everybody. Weird, because it certainly doesn’t sound like that. What it sounds like is that the ballpark is for anybody who goes along with woke nonsense,” Gonzales commented.

While Bass apologized, the Toronto Blue Jays are taking further steps to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

According to the Blue Jays, he will be attending diversity and inclusion training.

“Does he need to attend a workshop teaching him how to cater to mental illness and reject his religion to satisfy a tiny percentage of the population?” Gonzales mocked.

“I want to be clear,” she continued, “if you have a platform and you intend to share a message rejecting wokeism or the LGBT religion — do not back down, ever. The damage that is done by these cowards who walk their statements back with their tails tucked between their legs like a little bitch is far greater than if they would have just kept their mouths shut in the first place.”


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‘Vulgar Term For A Cat’: Megyn Kelly Drags MLB Player After Apology Over LGBT Pride Tweet

'A certain — what’s the word — a vulgar term for a cat comes to mind when I see this behavior'

MLB player apologizes for sharing post advocating for Target, Bud Light boycotts



Toronto Blue Jays player Anthony Bass apologized after sharing content on social media that advocated for Christians to boycott Target, Bud Light, and other entities pushing pro-LGBT ideology.

Bass apologized, saying that his post had hurt the "pride community," which he said includes some of his friends and relatives. He said that he had also apologized to his teammates and that he is "using the Blue Jays' resources to better educate" himself.

\u201cStatement from Anthony Bass:\u201d
— Toronto Blue Jays (@Toronto Blue Jays) 1685477406

Bass had reportedly shared a post from Ryan Miller. In a video last week, Miller contended that Christians should boycott businesses such as Target and Bud Light.

Anheuser-Busch's Bud Light beer brand has been subjected to severe blowback since enlisting transgender figure Dylan Mulvaney to advertise the beverage.

Target has been facing criticism for selling Pride products, including for children, and for offering a few products from Abprallen, a brand that also sells products bearing the message "Satan respects pronouns." Such products were not part of Target's offerings, and the retail giant has apparently dropped Abprallen's items from its website.

The Blue Jays are fully supportive of the LGBT agenda, and intend to celebrate the movement next month.

"The Blue Jays are proud to celebrate LGBTQ2S+ Pride Month, including a special fourth annual Pride Weekend at the ballpark June 9 and 10, and demonstrations of allyship all month long around the ballpark. Individual player sentiments are not representative of the club's beliefs," the team said in a statement, according to mlb.com.

Bass' Instagram profile includes text that says "Love God," and it also says "Mark 10:27."

Some people criticized Bass for making the apology.

"Pathetic," conservative commentator Dan Bongino tweeted.

"We are surrounded by cowards," conservative commentator Matt Walsh tweeted.

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Unvaccinated baseball player defiant as he's barred from crossing border into Toronto: 'I'm not gonna let Canada tell me what I do and don't put in my body'



Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto — one of several players on the squad barred from crossing the border into Canada to play against the Toronto Blue Jays this week because he's unvaccinated against COVID-19 — was defiant about the restriction placed upon him.

"I'm not gonna let Canada tell me what I do and don't put in my body," Realmuto told a reporter during a locker room interview about the subject.

What are the details?

Along with Realmuto, Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola, third baseman Alec Bohm, and starting pitcher Kyle Gibson are unvaccinated and didn't make the trip to Toronto, WCAU-TV reported. The Phillies lost Tuesday night to the Blue Jays 4-3 in the first of two games up north.

The station said players on this particular restricted list don't get paid, and Realmuto is forfeiting more than $262,000. But the money isn't what's on the catcher's mind.

"For a little bit of money, it's not worth it," he told a reporter.

Realmuto also explained his reasoning for not getting jabbed.

"I'm a healthy 31-year-old professional athlete, and I just didn't feel a need to get [the vaccine]," he said. "I've had COVID a couple of times [with] super-mild symptoms back when it first came out, and when it came time to decide whether I needed the vaccine or not, I talked with doctors that I knew, and I told them my story and just really decided I didn't think I needed it. I wasn't gonna take it just 'cause I was told to, basically."

\u201cJ.T. Realmuto on not being able to join the Phillies in Toronto due to his vaccination status:\u201d
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBC Sports Philadelphia) 1657593974

"It's an extremely unfortunate situation," Realmuto added. "Obviously, my teammates know how I feel about them, and how bad I want to be out there with them, but it's just unfortunate I'm not able to make the trip."

Realmuto's teammate Kyle Schwarber — who leads the National League with 28 home runs so far this season — told WCAU in a separate story that the club has the backs of every unvaccinated player.

“Just because we're headed to Toronto doesn’t mean someone is being a bad teammate because they didn’t get [the vaccine], right?” Schwarber told the station. “It all comes down to a personal decision. It’s unfortunate that Canada is not letting people in that will be in a controlled environment, but we can’t tell a government what to do."

Schwarber — who's headed to the All-Star Game and will participate in the arguably more popular Home Run Derby — added to WCAU that while he's vaccinated, "I don’t push it on people. It’s people’s own decision. If you want to get it, great. If you don’t, fine. I’m not going to treat you any differently, nor should anyone."

He also told the station that the decision Realmuto and other teammates made "kind of goes bigger than a game. It can go to your personal or religious beliefs. We’re playing a game. Guys have made decisions for themselves."

Anything else?

Vaccine status hasn't affected Major League Baseball players only. It's also loomed large in professional basketball — and not just because Canada is barring unvaccinated players, either. Remember the kerfuffle surrounding star Brooklyn Nets player Kyrie Irving not being able to play in his own city?

Apparently the National Hockey League isn't experiencing such issues, as the league reported last fall that only four players were unvaccinated.

Also, Canada isn't the only vaccine-restrictive country. Superstar tennis player Novak Djokovic, coming off his fourth straight Wimbledon singles victory this weekend, is saying he has no plans to get the COVID-19 vaccine so he can enter the United States to play the U.S. Open in late August. For that decision, a tennis journalist ripped Djokovic as an "anti-vax posterboy."