On Monday, Mike Clevinger became the second starting pitcher on the Cleveland Indians to be sent home for breaking COVID-19 protocols.
Clevinger had gone out with teammate Zach Plesac while they were in Chicago, necessitating a quarantine. However, unlike Plesac, he flew home from Chicago with his teammates before being placed into quarantine, potentially exposing them to the coronavirus.
Mike Clevinger issues apology for breaking COVID-19 protocols
On Tuesday, Clevinger issued a statement apologizing for his actions:
“There is an implicit trust that each of my teammates share as we navigate a season during this pandemic, and I broke that trust,” Clevinger shared, per Zach Meisel of The Athletic. “In Chicago, I made the mistake of violating the protocols but the biggest mistake of all was not immediately coming clean to my teammates. I owe them better. I now realize that by even exposing myself to just one person more than necessary, I am putting myself, my teammates, the guys I compete against, the umpires, the staff, the Indians organization as well as the Game that I love at risk. There is no excuse for my actions, and I can only take responsibility and learn from my mistakes. Moving forward, I promise my actions will reflect a full understanding of the protocols set in place while I continue my passion for competing for the incredible Indians’ fans and the City that I adore.”
Clevinger will now be quarantined for at least 72 hours and need to tested daily for COVID-19 during the quarantine.
MLB has experienced two major COVID-19 outbreaks already. The Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals were both shut down for extended periods of time due to major outbreaks within their organizations.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has threatened to shut everything down if players don’t do a better job of following protocols. Needless to say, what happened with Plesac and Clevinger cannot be well received around the league.