Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins criticizes Anthony Santander’s anti-Muslim posts
Toronto Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins publicly criticized outfielder Anthony Santander’s anti-Muslim social media posts on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, and said he expects the player to speak about the matter himself. Atkins made the remarks at the Major League Baseball (MLB) general managers meetings in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“There really aren’t words to express my level of disappointment,” Atkins said. He added that anything that “exacerbates some level of hate, anti-Islamic, is just extremely concerning and extremely disappointing.”
Ross Atkins says Santander’s posts went against Blue Jays values
Atkins said he spoke privately with Santander about what he called his lack of awareness. He said the player has a large social media audience and should understand what that means.
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“We’re working exceptionally hard internally to ensure, and we have been, that it’s a safe environment, that baseball is for everyone,” Atkins said. “It’s a part of our organizational values and his behavior did not align with that.”
Atkins said he told Santander that he needed to address the matter publicly and “that he should.” He said it is unclear whether the player plans to do so. “I don’t want to speak for him,” Atkins said, adding that he believes Santander “feels badly.”
Anthony Santander’s two Instagram videos on Muslims and Sharia law
Santander shared two videos on Instagram after the U.S. midterm elections. One showed a Christian pastor saying “there is no such thing as kind Muslims.” The other suggested that Sharia, the Islamic legal code, would be imposed in the United States after the election of Abdul El-Sayed to the Senate for Michigan.
Santander has since deleted both videos. Screenshots of the posts still circulated online and drew criticism from fans and others.
Blue Jays statement does not name Anthony Santander
Before Atkins spoke, the team released a statement through an anonymous spokesperson. The text did not name Santander.
“Baseball is for everyone, and the Blue Jays have created an inclusive experience where all fans feel welcome at our ballpark. Individual comments do not represent our organization’s values and beliefs.”
The sources consulted do not agree on the exact date of the posts. One report places them on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, while another says they came on the Tuesday of the midterm elections, without giving a date. The date of the removal is also disputed: some reports say Santander deleted the publications on Thursday, November 5, 2026, and another says he removed them two days after they were published. Because of these differences, the timeline above should be read with caution.
Anthony Santander’s contract, age and career with the Blue Jays
- Age: 32
- Birthplace: Margarita, Venezuela
- Signed as an amateur free agent out of Venezuela: 2011, at age 16
- Contract with the Blue Jays: 5 years, US$92.5 million, signed in January 2025
- Games played for the Blue Jays since joining: 54, limited by injuries
Before signing with Toronto, Santander spent his first eight MLB seasons with the Baltimore Orioles. The Blue Jays’ statement and Atkins’s comments came as his place on the roster was already uncertain for other reasons, since injuries have kept him off the field for long stretches.
Anthony Santander’s 2026 season lost to shoulder surgery
Santander missed the entire 2026 season after surgery on his left shoulder. His return during the summer was interrupted in mid-July, when he felt pain in the same shoulder again.
The injury history helps explain the limited playing time that appears in the contract section above. Santander had already been away from the field for a long stretch before the posts drew attention, and the 54 games he has played for the Blue Jays since joining the club have been shaped by those injuries. Before the statement from the team, the club had answered the questions about the posts only with its official statement, and Atkins had referred the questions to that same text.
What is still unknown about Anthony Santander’s response
As of the reporting, Santander had not apologized or commented publicly on the case, and no comment from him after Atkins’s remarks had been confirmed. It is not known whether he plans to address the matter, or whether the Blue Jays will take any disciplinary or administrative action against him.
