Almost six years ago, Boston Red Sox slugger J.D. Martinez posted on Instagram his support for the Constitution and the Second Amendment. He recently answered questions about that post after it was drudged up during an interview .
On Tuesday, when reporters asked him about it, Martinez apologized if he offended anyone with his views, but stood firm on his convictions.
“At the time I posted that, the Second Amendment at the time was definitely a hot topic,” Martinez said. “The point of it wasn’t to offend anybody.”
Martinez, who is Cuban-American, claims most of his family was forced to flee Cuba because of dictator Fidel Castro; it was because of that experience that Martinez shared the quote. He also expressed that he finds being denied the right to bear arms unacceptable.
“Everyone here has a right to their own political beliefs, and everybody has the right to stand by what they believe in,” Martinez said. “That’s what makes us American. We’re all not going to agree on the same things, but that’s what makes this country so great.”
Martinez also said that will continue to support the Second Amendment, despite the post, which has been deleted, coming to light.
J.D. Martinez’s Instagram Post
The Instagram post shows a photo of Adolf Hitler, attributing the quote, “To conquer a nation, First disarm it’s citizens.” The Boston Red Sox Slugger included, “This is why I will always be strapped! #thetruth.” The quote paraphrases ideas that Hitler once expressed, but were never actually said by the Nazi leader.
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Red Sox President Sam Kennedy told the Boston Herald that he had spoken to Martinez about the Instagram post. In fact, the team regularly discusses caution with players in social media posts. At the same time, he said that Martinez was expressing political views, and everyone has that right.
