Controversial Instagram Post from Red Sox Outfielder

Red Sox outfielder J.D. Martinez found himself in hot water after a social media post made on Instagram in 2013 resurfaced. The post pictured Adolf Hitler with the quote, “To conquer a nation, first disarm its citizens,” over it. He captioned it, “This is why I always stay strapped! #the truth,” in an effort to voice his Second Amendment opinions. Martinez recently said he did not mean to offend anyone by the post, and that he loves this country and stands behind the Constitution. He went on to say, “I’m Cuban-American, and most of my family was run out of Cuba because of a brutal dictator. It’s terrible. It’s one of those things where I’ll never get to meet some of my family because of it.”

Along with Martinez, several other major league players have faced social media controversy this year, including Milwaukee pitcher Josh Hader, Atlanta pitcher Sean Newcomb, White Sox pitcher Michael Kopech and Washington shortstop Trea Turner who have had past Twitter posts expressing racist or homophobic perspectives. As someone who can serve as the inspiration and role model for children, especially in the age of social media, how negative do you think it is expressing political viewpoints? Would this have been as bad if there was not a picture of Hitler, but Martinez just voiced his agreement with the Second Amendment? Let me know your thoughts!