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Mo'ne Davis Says Player Who Sent Offensive Tweet Deserves Second Chance

By Eyder Peralta

Published March 23, 2015 at 8:36 PM EDT

Pennsylvania's Mo'ne Davis delivers a pitch in the fifth inning against Tennessee at the 2014 Little League World Series tournament in South Williamsport, Pa.

Mo'ne Davis, the Little League phenom who broke gender barriers last year, is proving that she is a class act off the field, too.

According to ESPN, she has decided to take the high road, after Joey Casselberry, a junior first baseman for Bloomsburg (Pa.) University, sent an offensive tweet about her.

The since-deleted tweet bemoaned the fact that Disney Channel is producing a movie about Davis. Casselberry went on to say: "WHAT A JOKE. That slut got rocked by Nevada."

In an interview with ESPN, Davis, who was the first female pitcher to throw a shutout in a Little League postseason, said she had written Bloomsburg to ask that it let Casselberry play again. ESPN reports:

" 'Everyone makes mistakes,' Davis said. '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?' "

The Washington Post reports that the university said it would not be reinstating Casselberry immediately.

"Mo'ne Davis has reached out to Bloomsburg University asking that Joey Casselberry's dismissal from the team be reconsidered," the university said in a statement sent to the Post. "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."

According to Philly.com, Casselberry deactivated his Twitter account on Saturday, but before doing so, he issued an apology.

"An example that one stupid tweet can ruin someone's life and I couldn't be more sorry about my actions last night," he said. "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."