Toronto Blue Jays player wins award and donates $100k after defending teammate
A Toronto Blue Jays pitcher has made a very large donation to an important charity here in Canada after he came to the defence of one of his teammates.
Alek Manoah made headlines two weeks ago when he tweeted his support for teamate Alejandro Kirk after multiple disgusting remarks were made about Kirk's body.
This dude took a bizarre, body-shaming shot at Alejandro Kirk and Alek Manoah came to defend his teammate against this nonsense because he’s everything right about the game of baseball. pic.twitter.com/T5jxVJLMLq
— Mike Beauvais (@MikeBeauvais) September 15, 2022
It came after the 23-year-old Mexican athlete and catcher hit a home run and ran across the field at Toronto's Rogers Centre.
Fans in the crowd were obviously hyped and even the team's account tweeted out footage of the amazing play.
We would run through a wall for Captain @alejandro_kirk 😤 pic.twitter.com/9PHrjlLDf8
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) September 14, 2022
But a specific, now deleted comment, soiled the moment for everybody.
Somebody named Mathew said "imagine how much better he'd be if he were in shape," regarding Kirk and continued on a vile fat-shaming online rampage.
Here’s the tweet which now looks like it’s been deleted. pic.twitter.com/fu40juTJag
— Ryan Tunall (@ryantunall) September 15, 2022
But in comes Manoah, whose spot-on comment made the online troll cower in defeat and delete his comment.
What’s actually embarrassing for the sport is people that go by the name of Matthew and have never played a day in the big leagues thinking they can control the narrative and stereotypes. Go ahead and tell that 8 year old kid who is 10lbs over weight that he should quit now. Or https://t.co/c4cbTABMbx
— MANOAH (@Alek_Manoah6) September 15, 2022
"What's actually embarrassing for the sport is people that go by the name of Matthew and have never played a day in the big leagues thinking they can control the narrative and stereotypes. Go ahead and tell that 8 year old kid who is 10lbs over weight that he should quit now," said Manoah, he retweeted the original hateful statement.
Since then, Manoah has been praised for showing support and standing up for Kirk, not tolerating any kind of hate.
Alex Manoah is the type of person you want representing your franchise, your city, the country’s lone MLB team. He called out that doucher for comments on Kirk, moreover citing the toxic message it sends to children. He’s not afraid to take a side. A team & nation has his!
— OverHatedPodcast (@OverHatedDayOne) September 18, 2022
And that good deed has resulted in the pitcher being awarded Dove+ Men Care's first sponsorship for sportsmanship.
INBOX: Blue Jays pitcher Alek Manoah has been named the first recipient of the Dove Men+Care sponsorship for sportsmanship by defending Alejandro Kirk from online comments on his weight. Manoah will donate his sponsorship proceeds ($100,000) to KidSport. @CTVToronto #NextLevel
— Paul Ross (@RealPaulRoss) September 26, 2022
Part of that award gave a $100,000 sponsorship to Manoah, which he has decided to donate to KidsSport, a Canadian organization providing children access to organized sports.
Real #SportsMenCare. We’re proud to recognize @alek_manoah6 for bringing more care to the world of sport. Stay tuned for his official announcement before next Tuesday’s game!#DoveMenCare pic.twitter.com/MuFgKBcJJo
— Dove Men+Care (@DoveMenCare) September 24, 2022
This goes just to prove that doing the right thing and speaking up for what is wrong can result in 100,000 more acts of goodness.
