The Miami Marlins baseball team has apologized after its social media team attempted to taunt the Tampa Bay Rays with a tweet about the late Australian wildlife expert and broadcaster Steve Irwin.
Twitter trash-talking between the rival Florida-based MLB teams took an insensitive turn on Sunday, after the Rays beat the Marlins twice in a weekend double-header. The Marlins called the Rays “literally the animal that killed Steve Irwin.”
yOU’RE LITERALLY THE ANIMAL THAT KILLED STEVE IRWIN LOG OFF
— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) August 4, 2019
Yes I was fired, but the person responsible for this tweet should be sitting right next to me and would be were I still there. Let’s hope Jeter is actually paying attention. Inexcusable, even by Twitter standards. #waittosee https://t.co/D8Z52ngca0
— David P. Samson (@DavidPSamson) August 4, 2019
In a statement released Monday, a spokesperson for the Marlins said it was “a regrettable exchange by our otherwise creative social media team.”
“Unfortunately, in this medium, sometimes we swing and miss, and this was definitely a miss,” the statement said.
An apology was also issued on the team’s Twitter feed:
Hi, guys. Like everyone who grew up watching him, we miss Steve. We’re so sorry to have made light of his passing.
— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) August 5, 2019