Last year, Mo’ne Davis took the sporting world by storm. Mo’ne was only 13 years old at the time, and she is the first girl to throw a shutout in Little League World Series history. She’s an inspiration for girls and boys, a poster girl for community athletic programs and for gender equality in sports. She’s also just a really cool young lady, and obviously, Hollywood has come knocking. Disney has already announced that they’re going to make a TV movie about Mo’ne called Throw Like Mo. Great story, right? Who could say anything negative about that, right?
Well, meet Joey Casselberry, a student at Bloomsburg University and a player on the college baseball team. Over the weekend, Casselberry tweeted: “Disney is making a movie about Mo’ne Davis? WHAT A JOKE. That slut got rocked by Nevada.” Yes. He seriously wrote that. Was it that he calls every female a “slut”? Or was it something more personal about this 14-year-old girl? Well, we don’t even have to care because the university kicked him off the team. He deleted the tweet and then his Twitter, and he issued this apology:
“An example that one stupid tweet can ruin someone’s life and I couldn’t be more sorry about my actions last night. I please ask you to forgive me and truly understand that I am in no way shape or form a sexist and I am a huge fan of Mo’ne. She was quite an inspiration.”
Eh. Not a great apology. But what did you expect from a guy who uses “slut” to describe any woman or girl? Anyway, Mo’ne decided to show more grace and class than most of us would be capable of and she issued a statement about the situation:
“Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone deserves a second chance. I know he didn’t mean it in that type of way. I know people get tired of seeing me on TV. But sometimes you got to think about what you’re doing before you do it. It hurt on my part, but he hurt even more. If it was me, I would want to take that back. I know how hard he’s worked. Why not give him a second chance?”
This made me ache a little bit. That she would be this gracious in the face of such douchebaggery is stunning. And no, it’s not about “people get tired of seeing me on TV.” Don’t ever apologize for existing, Mo’ne.
And here’s the happy ending: Bloomsburg University heard Mo’ne’s request and they think she’s an awesome person, but that douchebag is still suspended from the team. The university issued a statement saying: “Her request demonstrates the type of person she is, her level of maturity and the empathy that her family and coach teach her. Bloomsburg University stands firm on our decision; however, his consequences will be reviewed as is common in disciplinary actions like this.” I love that the university is all “she’s amazing but NOPE, this bro is a d-bag.”
Photos courtesy of Sports Illustrated, Getty.
What kind of an ahole calls a 14 yo THAT!?!? Criminal mind…
And, I smell jealousy. Typical male tactic: tear a woman down in her own self-worth if she dares to show she can be as good as or better than men in this world. Call her stupid, trash, ugly, fat, a wh0re, etc– and maybe, she’ll stop, so that men can continue to think, they are somehow better and deserve more than they truly deserve to have (for simply being born male).
lets not generalize. Its not a “Typical male tactic”, it s a “Typical unintellegent male tactic”.
Thank you. Describing his actions as “typical male” is no better than his general references to women as “sluts”.
while I agree it’s not “typical”, I disagree that it has to do with “intelligence”.
more like misogyny, entitlement, and privilege.
What doofus said.
It’s always so jarring to me to see/read any man so casually referring to a woman as a “sl_t”.
I guess that speaks to Lana’s point that many men do not do so, well at least not the men that I surround myself with.
Male privlege is a HUGE thing ( Google worthy ) and I believe that’s what teehee was trying to get across. What she was saying does have merit whether someone believes it’s typical or not.
“It’s always so jarring to me to see/read any man so casually referring to a woman as a “sl_t”.”
So true. I found the tweet really jarring, but it demonstrates the casual way that some people use it.
How can you compare someone saying “typical male” to men who refer to all women as sluts. It’s not the same at all.
I agree with Anna. I think that sometimes we are too quick to defend men when the rare double-standard occurs that privileges women. In this case, it isn’t quite the same thing, but I agree also that we should try not to generalize. However, while I certainly don’t think all men are like this, far more than we would like sure are! And while the “slut” thing is extreme and totally unconscionable (I really don’t understand a mentality that reduces women to sexual stereotypes as a matter of course), many men casually say and do all kinds of things that oppress women in large and small ways, even just judging women more, and giving men passes who display the same behavior. It’s not always conscious, or intentional, but it does contribute to the overall oppressive system of misogyny.
In my experience, misogyny is related to the intellegence level. The only examples of misogyny that I have encountered were from the sort of men who would get lost in their own sentence and have problems with logical thinking. Maybe I was lucky. Funny, but Im not as offended by the namecalling itself, as by the utter absurdity of the namecalling. Like, what exactly do you mean by calling somebody “slut” and how is that relevant to the point u r trying to make?
@lana86
I agree. I’ve been called a slut before (by men and women), and I wasn’t offended, I was just shocked by how absurd the whole situation was. I was being called a slut because I was planning to spend a weekend at a cabanna and have sex all day. With my boyfriend. I was in a monogamous relationship, and I was still a slut.
I wouldn’t say this is typical behavior, though. A lot more men that we’d like to admit feel threatened by succesful women, but I think the vast majority of them would know better than to call a 14 year old a slut on social media.
He’d be an a-hole to call anyone, any female that. But yeah, her being a kid makes it extra disgusting.
I hope he’s truly sorry and does some soul searching, because if your first instinct to refer to a female (especially a 14 year old kid) as a “slut”, then yes, you ARE a sexist in some form or another. Otherwise you would have used a different word.
I think that’s just it. He’s used to thinking of and talking about almost all women that way (and perhaps reaches for the word even more easily when the woman in question is black), and because of that underlying misogyny the word slips out even when he’s talking about a young girl.
I’d never heard of Mo’Ne until I read this story. What a remarkable girl. What kind of an apology was that, anyway? He’s a University student who calls a 14-year-old girl such a vile name, but only offers a hollow apology because he copped a suspension. He’s a prize twat, and will never hold a candle to Mo’Ne.
Also, working with college students as I do, we don’t know what other offences this kid has committed in the past that helped to warrant being kicked off the team. Offenses and their consequences are often kept private unless there is direct criminal behavior, in which case a student faces both criminal and university consequences (unless the school is trying to cover such crimes up, and sadly some of them try to lower their crime stats and soothe parental concerns by not reporting certain crimes. It’s disgusting and frightening, but it does happen.). So, it’s amazing and very mature that she would have him granted a second chance, but he may very well not deserve it for multiple reasons, besides just being a general douche canoe!
“I am in no way a sexist. I just like to call young teenage girls sluts”.
I really doubt he’s truly sorry about anything but being caught and now having to face the consequences of his behaviour. He’s already trying to make it all about him and what a poor, poor person he is.
teaandsympathy: I mean, really, you had to call him a prize “twat”? You DO realize that that word is a derogatory slur for a woman’s vagina, don’t you? Why perpetuate a word like that? It’s bad enough we have to hear garbage like that from men, if you’re a woman, I’m disgusted that you didn’t think twice about using a word that degrades your gender in such a way.
Right? Abuser 101 to tear down their victim’s psysique/logic/accomplishments in a public way.
I think this guy thought the only people who would really care about his tweet were his team-mates and “fans” and he posted it in the same casual way many sport’s fans talk trash about players from other teams. It’s conversation but not intended to start an all out political crap storm. You can hear 1000x worse while listening to people converse over a beer at a sport’s bar. This guy obviously thought Twitter was like his local Hooters.
Is he jealous? More than likely. Is he sexist. Probably. Is he an idiot? Obviously. I’m not sure he deserves to have his entire career thrown under a bus over it though.
Mo’Ne is representing in a way I love. She’s humble, forgiving and if she keeps that up, karma is going to keep her on top of her game.
She’s demonstrated far more grace and fortitude then this guy could ever hope to have. He still, however, deserves to be off the team. His word choice reveals a man who clearly has serious issues with women and girls and I don’t blame the university for not wanting anything to do with him. Given the attitude he clearly has, I can’t imagine that he’s exactly a gentleman in real life – so that makes him a liability. Toss him.
Truly amazing class, especially for such a young person. She really is inspiring.
She is amazing.
Here’s why his suspension doesn’t bug me: you don’t just offhand refer to a 14 year old girl as a slut if you don’t have some incredibly deep seated, misogynistic worldview. I just hope that this just shines a light on him, his teammates & friends, and others like this that this not an acceptable way to treat women.
“you don’t just offhand refer to a 14 year old girl as a slut if you don’t have some incredibly deep seated, misogynistic worldview.”
THIS. over and over.
Here’s what gets me the most. I know guys like that, and they’d be filled with righteous indignation if you suggested that they were sexist a-holes. Somehow there’s this idea that just because you support women being able to hold a job and get a degree that it absolves you treating them as though what’s between their legs is the only thing of value. Guys that think it’s funny to devalue women and treat them as though they’re second class citizens, because “bros before hos”. So while Mo’Ne is holding her head up high through her life, I hope this guy and everyone like him is hanging his head in SHAME.
Better later than never I guess.
I hope this will have a lasting effect.
*standing ovation*
This. He either a) specifically singled out a 14 year old girl to refer to as a slut or b) considers the term a general reference for any female regardless of age. Either way it’s pretty damning. Especially that he felt confident enough in either instance that it was acceptable to put out into a public platform. His parents must be so proud.
His parents obviously taught him his view of women. You have to teach a child to hate. You teach a child to love the world equally and they don’t throw the word ‘slut’ around like it’s nothing.
If I were his parents I’d be ashamed, but I don’t know that I would say that they ‘taught’ him this view. The sexism that he’s demonstrating is the most insidious kind – the kind that devalues women as simple playthings there for men’s pleasure. We see women treated this way in popular media ALL THE TIME. And this is why I’m glad that this is a story, because this mentality is just not okay.
+1
Yes. Perfectly stated and I cannot agree more, Bridget.
Seriously, this makes me stabby, and all the more so because I can think of SO MANY guys that I knew in college like that. “Oh, I was just joking, you don’t understand my humor”. No.
His reaction to her was waaaaay over the top. What a dirtbag.
The one thing I have learned is that this 14 really is a better person that me because my first reaction would have been to tell him to suck it.
Also, she mentioned that she wants to play ball for UCONN. So in 4 years I will be rooting for UCONN.
she is EVERYTHING Every. single.solitary.Things
Her Parents and her community are probably walking on air to have this girl representing while being so confident, level headed and gracious
Joe Castleberry isn’t even a sociopath, that’s just the Bro that society has allowed to flourish unchecked, and NO bro Mo’ne might have taken your apology but we don’t have to, we know this was a classic “sorry I got screencapped” moment
Incredible. More mature and measured than a lot of adults.
She really is. Whenever a young person gets instantly famous like she did, I worry a little for them because I can’t imagine trying to live under that scrutiny, and the world is filled with d-bags like this guy. But damn, she can clearly handle it, and with the utmost class. I’m inspired by her.
I agree.
Classy girl.
And, by being classy, she gets to WIN. That’s what I like.
The best part to me, is that she puts out this phenominal baseball performance, and she’s like “Oh, this is fun, but you should really see me play basketball”.
I am kind of glad his comment wasn’t racist. Slut is bad enough
Thing is, it was racist. If Mo’ne was white he probably wouldn’t have called her a slut. It all goes back to the sexualization of black women by white men. White American culture has a long history of oversexualizing young black children to suit their own agenda.
If she was white, there is a stronger chance he wouldn’t have noticed her at all or may have even been cheering for her (while boasting to his bros that in 4 years she would be legal).
A bit off topic, but can someone tell me if I am supposed to be capitalizing black and white when referring to people? I never know what to do.
booboo, I hadn’t even thought about that (the diff between if she were white vs. being black). and sadly, I think you’re right.
ugh.
Exactly, Booboo. And even if she were White and had noticed her, he wouldn’t have made that statement publicly.
Nailed it, Booboo!
I’m with Booboo. His comment was definitely misogynistic, but I think it was probably also racist and that it wasn’t a coincidence that he singled out a black girl for the slur.
It seems like the victim of hate is often expected to be gracious to the d-bag party so that she don’t draw any additional unwarranted criticism to herself in the aftermath. If she didn’t say something somewhat conciliatory about this idiot, there would be a line of other idiots ready to tear her down for “allowing” this stupid boy’s life to be ruined.
This is so true. We hold the behaviour of victims to a much higher standard – if she had been all “Haha, that ridiculous twatwaffle got what he deserved!” she would be copping so much flak right now, even though she would have been fully justified.
Indeed. It does not say good things about our society.
Yes. You’re right. People get crapped on and they’re expected to take the high road or they’re considered to be stooping to the other person’s level. All I can say is taking the high road does show the world you have better character …beyond your temper and the fantasies of revenge in your mind. I hate taking the high road sometimes, but I’ve never regretted it once I did it bc usually the douchebags keep on and continue to make themselves out to be total idiots. It seems the douchebags get away with too much, but fact is, they are their own worst enemy and will eventually destroy themselves in one way or another.
Exactly. If she’d said anything other than this, she’d probably be getting “angry black woman” backlash (never mind that a 14-year-old girl is not a woman.) I don’t mean in any way to detract from the strength it must have taken her to take the high road here, however. It’s just galling that anyone expects her to, when she shouldn’t have to.
What an a-hole that dude is. When future employers Google him, that’s what they’ll find. Too bad.
He deserved to be kicked off the team. This is basically an adult saying this about a child.
When I first heard of this my initial thought was this dude had so many issues at play from one statement. The casual mysogyny and perhaps unconscious racism due to sexualizing a young black girl.
I think the main thing you can take from his douchy words is that Mo Ne bruised his privileged white male world view i.e. ‘How dare this young black girl get fame and acclaim in a sport that by sheer biology makes me a better player and a sport where I will never be as acclaimed’
Hence the casual mysogyny and implied racism. Using the word slut to negate and de humanize her.
And yes I do think there was some unconscious racism at play. I…just feel like if Mo Ne Davis was a cute blonde haired Monica Davis, he may still have been bitter but wouldn’t have felt as comfortable calling her a slut. Yes, I realize a
White women get called slut too…but not all white women are 13 or 14 yr olds who are national sensations.
While I think this guy is a moron and honestly the world would be better if we could just vote him off the island of life and toss him in a volcano, I think to assume racism where there is no evidence of it is a slippery slope. We know he is unkind towards women, we can see he is most likely jealous of her success, and we know he has a limited vocabulary. But to assume to know what is going on in the subconscious mind of everyone based on a tweet is dangerous.
I agree. I don’t think there’s any evidence he was being racist and I suspect he would’ve used the same gross term for a white 14 year old girl.
He is a total moron, and a creep. Who calls a kid that??
I think there’s a difference between saying that the guy is PERHAPS guilty of “unconscious racism” and saying “this guy is emphatically a racist”, you know?
You’re absolutely right that he may have said the same about a white girl because he’s just that misogynistic, but what’s the harm is pondering whether unconscious racism could be at play here?
I think it’s important to bring up the potential for racism in situations like this, because it helps us learn about the different ways that racism manifests itself.
Agreed. I looked him up. He’s white. He’s substantially over-weight. He went to highschool in Pennsylvania. While he makes me embarrassed to be white, I have a feeling his mentality is sexist. I do think he would have made a derragatory comment no matter this girl’s race. He is an arrogant, sexist POS. He pretty much just lost what I’ll bet was a sports scholarship and that makes me happy, because dude is not an academic. Bye Bye college. Bye Bye baseball career. Don’t know how he could throw a baseball or run bases with all that flab anyhow – sorry, I’m mad.
It is bothering me, though, that he felt comfortable saying what he said because it must be acceptable in her social circle and they don’t get in any trouble at all. Shame on any and all of them that played into this.
You might think there is no evidence of racism but all of the things used to oppress people intersect. Intersectionality is within every ‘ism’ so for example being black and a women or being black and gay have within them two forms of oppression within them and whole can of worms and more BS to contend with and this something that people often don’t think about. The racism doesn’t have to be outright expressed but it is still very much apart of how black women’s lives have been framed in relation to sexuality and gender historically. Again this is something that people that don’t automatically think about. But as black woman when I read that tweet I made the connection right away. People might want to dismiss this connection but my firm opinion is that all tools of oppression are interconnected.
Racialized Sexism is a thing that exists, look it up.
@ Joy-I don’t think anyone is “assuming racism”, simply bringing up the idea that there could be some insidious racism at play here, and I think Toody and others on this board have articulated very well the reasons why.
I wish people would understand how racism isn’t always presented as “I hate this black person for being black”. There are SO many other forms of racism that run so deep, that people aren’t even aware that what they’re saying has racist origins or is the product of internalized racism.
+1 @Kitten
Your last paragraph! AGREED!
What an intelligent and courageous girl. It’s nice to see her handle an issue with the grace someone three times her age may not have. I’m hoping she’ll go far!
Typical. Bro feels threatened that a girl might just be better than he is so he resorts to using derogatory sexist slurs tonundeije Her strength. He’s not sorry, he’s sorrybhe got caught. If he was a ‘fan’ and ‘inspired’ that comment would never have crossed his mind. What class and grace from a 14 year old, wow. All of us are presumably adults and she took it better than we have.
No, he is not sorry other than being sorry he got caught and got in trouble for it. I still can’t beleive he dared to say he is in no way shape or form a sexist. Who does he think he’s kidding? Himself. And you just know that behind his faux regret, he is probably blaming Mo`ne for all the trouble he is in now and calling her much worse,…but only to himself as the only thing he’s really learned is not to publicize his rants.
“I’m not a sexist, I just immediately resort to degrading slurs that question a teenage girl’s sexual history whenever I am pissed that she gets more attention than me!”
No, Captain Douchenozzle. You couldn’t possibly be a sexist.
No kidding!!!!!!!!!! Ggrrrrr this made me so angry!!!!!!
Very classy response in her part. I watched a few interviews with her last year and kinda found her a bit arrogant and somewhat full of herself, but then again she was 13! Turning into a really good role model for young girls
Looking forward to seeing her in Storrs in a few years 😉
“I didn’t mean it THAT way. I said slut, not slut!”
Mo Ne is better than me. I’m a grown azz woman and I definitely wouldn’t have been as gracious. I’m petty, I’ll be that.
How does a suspension ruin his life? After a suspension, there is generally reinstatement. He’s a bit selfish and over dramatic, in addition to being a jerk
I could have read wrong, but it sounded to me like he was 100% kicked off the team until Mo’Ne’s reaction, and since she asked them to give him a second chance they decided to simply suspend him rather than kicking him off entirely ? Either way I’m really excited to see this trend of universities holding racist/mysoginistic d-bags accountable for their actions, with no hesitation or sympathy towards said d-bags. Baby steps!
every article I’ve read refers to him being “dismissed” from the team with no chance for reinstatement.
but the reporting could be wrong, of course.
It doesn’t sound like he’s necessarily up for reinstatement. That being said, “ruin his life” doesn’t seem applicable here. This guy isn’t on track to be in the pros, or he’d be in the minor leagues already, and it doesn’t sound like he’s considered the most valuable player on his team. He might lose his athletic scholarship. That’s a setback, but not a life ruiner – after all, tons of students have the same thing happen because of sports injuries.
From the latest CNN article: “According to the report, Bloomsburg praised 13-year-old Davis’s maturity over this situation, but for now aren’t planning on reinstating Casselberry, saying, “Right now we’re standing firm.”
So to-date, he has been formally dismissed w/no plans to reinstate him. Yay!
I think that’s a fair punishment. He’s talking about a CHILD, not a grown woman (which it would still be bad). Someone who talks about children like that, in a public forum, deserve to be fired. Like when The Onion called Quezevenue Wallis a c-nt…..a NINE YEAR OLD. It’s sad that a grown ass man didn’t think twice about calling a 14 year old a slut….for being good at baseball.
Ms. Davis has more class than Mr. Casselberry could ever imagine.
That said, Mr. Casselberry is the SLUT. And by that I mean Seriously, Stupid, Loud, Loutish, Lunkhead Uttering Trash.
This – he definitely embodies your new definition of that hateful word!
I have no doubt this young woman will continue to be awesome, no matter what junk is thrown her way. You got this, Mo’ne!
I just love this young lady and the thought of some college douchebag saying that about her makes me cry. I have a 15-year-old daughter who is an athlete and fabulous human being, and if some dickwad called her that I might end up in jail due to KICKING HIS ASS. So Mo’ne is a much better human than I am.
#TeamMoNe forever.
Atta Girl!!! What a wonderful young lady.
I love it when people turn into douchebag keyboard warriors, thinking they’re untouchable & being funny, and then find out that social media is not private or temporary, that crap is public and forever out there and he got exactly what he deserved. When will these people learn that just because you are free to say whatever you want does free you from consequences?
This made me redefine the word SLUT:
Sorry a**
Lame brain
Uninformed
Twit
So if anyone is a SLUT it’s him. Could his apology been any more self centered? Considering the amount of bullying on social media and the many young people that have taken their own life because of it…um yeah “one stupid tweet can ruin a life.” This fool needs to get over himself.
Praise for Mo on and off the field.
I LOVE HER RESPONSE. Mo’ne’s a class act.
I’m not acknowledge the idiot who called this young girl a slut because he isn’t worth our time.
I will however, say this girl is a fantastic example of how to handle a situation with class, grace and humanity. I know she is a very accomplished athlete but my goodness her parents must be so proud of her as a person because wow.
God, what a woman! This is the highest compliment I can give, because being a woman is amazing. And she is a already aces. As for that stupid, disgusting , pathetic fool who called her a “slut”(WTF, by the way?!) well, I hope he rots.
A 14 year old girl outshining many adults. Amber Rose (or some other video vixens) would be on Twitter swearing at people for calling her a slut. She handled with such grace. And wow she is so pretty!
If she had reacted with vitriol, her reaction would have been just as valid. I’m impressed with her grace, but I really loathe the idea we banter around in this culture that anger isn’t an entirely justifiable reaction to encountering racism and misogyny. Part of oppression is insisting that victims always take the “higher ground” while allowing their oppressors to behave as repulsively as they want.
Veronica- I thought Mo’ne’s response was classy, but I also agree with you that if she had responded in anger, she would have been justified.
Sometimes taking the higher ground isn’t the best course of action in the long run.
+100000000
Wonderful girl
LOL, I’m sure he’s “sorry.” They always are when there are actual consequences to their actions.
I already was impressed with her badassery out on the field. Now she’s got my respect for being so mature and compassionate to someone so mean and stupid. Hats off to her.
Mo’Ne has more class and empathy at 14 than a lot of adults, just look at the writing of this story and the comments. In the spirit of her words can’t we refrain from the name calling. As my mother said two wrongs don’t make a right. His motives for his words who knows? I do know that young people do seem to have a tendency to write and say really stupid things that they may not mean. This may not be him, but it could be, and at least Mo’Ne, who was the one hurt most by his comment, knows that. Just maybe her willingness to forgive may make him change his mindset. This is such an uplifting story because of Mo’Ne’s reaction and comment, I hate to see it dragged in the crazy gossip comments, but I know I am reading Celebitchy and should expect it. Still hoping for a higher thinking.
Wow. What a classy response. I doubt I could be that forgiving. I don’t follow baseball and hadn’t heard of her before but I’m now glad that I have. Thank you CB for bringing this amazing young woman to my attention.
Mo’Ne just shows she is a class act over and over. She shows more maturity than most at her young age. I am not going to try to figure out what he may or may not have been implying. That’s unproductive. He called a child a slut for no reason. That says more than enough.
I’ve known many men in my life (my profession is swarming with them, no lines for me in the rest rooms), and honestly can’t think of a single one who would describe such a 14 year old athlete as a slut. Really. Not even the diehard sexists who thought we belong only in the kitchen and the bedroom. It’s not normal. She’s being very gracious, but something is going on with this fellow beyond her experience. They really had to do they did. I agree that it might be part of a larger pattern with him that has been tolerated but this was simply the final straw.
She seems to be an empathetic/sensitive girl with a good head on her shoulders. Something a lot of adults will never achieve. Her parents have to be very proud of her & how she handled it. Maybe they need to give this guy some lessons in manners & class. He needs some kind of help, only a seriously messed up person would say something that vulgar to a 14 year old.
“a sexist”. lol.
Also this guy must be a pedophile if he thinks that a 14 year old is capable of being a “slut”. He must have thought at some point about sex with a 14 year old. PEDO.
What kind of person can hate on this girl? She’s flawless. Her statement made me wanna have kids.