Yankees’ Sonny Gray denies being racist after controversial 2012 tweet found

Yankees pitcher Sonny Gray defended himself after pitching Wednesday at Yankee Stadium.

NEW YORK — As Yankees pitcher Sonny Gray was having yet another terrible outing Wednesday afternoon at Yankee Stadium and then laughing about it as he was pulled in the third inning with his club down six runs, an ugly part of his past was discovered on his @sonnygray2 Twitter account.

One of his tweets from 2012 paints the right-hander as a racist.

Judge for yourself:

Randy Miller | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com 

Shown the tweet, Gray identified @Sir_Peanut1 as close friend Rashun Dixon, a former Oakland Athletics farmhand before adamantly defending his character.

Gray called his tweet an “inside joke.”

“I’m not scared of my past,” Gray said after the Yankees’ 7-5 loss to the Baltimore Orioles. “My past has helped shape who I am today, so if people want to try and question who I am, like I said, I’ll face that head on because I’m not scared of my past. Everything that’s happened in my past has done nothing but make me a better man. So that’s irrelevant to me.”

An African American, Dixon is a former outfielder prospect who was drafted and signed by the Athletics out of a Mississippi High School in 2010. He was in Oakland’s farm system along with Gray for three seasons.

Terry is the younger brother of Anthony Dixon, an NFL running back for the San Francisco 49ers from 2010-13 and Buffalo Bills from 2014-15.

His Twitter account no longer is active.

Gray spoke after a 2 2/3-inning, seven-run outing that could get him bumped from the starting rotation because newcomer Lance Lynn followed with 4 1/3 shutout innings of relief in his Yankees debut.

Manager Aaron Boone said afterward that a decision needed to be made on whether to replace Gray with Lynn in his post-game presser.

A few minutes later, Gray was on the defense.

First, Gray was question about his smiling while he was being removed.

“Honestly, I was just frustrated. I think that everyone frustrations and handles things differently,” Gray said. “I’m never in my whole life been a guy that when things aren’t going his way … to come off the field and throw a glove or throw a hat or punch something. I’ve always been a mellow guy who tries to think things through and get over it and move on.”

Later, he was asked if something happened to his Twitter account, as it was deleted during the game … shortly after his 2012 tweet to Dixon was discovered and put all over social media.

By the time Gray did his post-game interview, his account was active again, but with all of his old tweets deleted.

“I’m not sure (what happened),” Gray responded before realizing his 2012 tweet was found. “Oh, I’ve had a lot of issues with that. I’m not in control (of the account).”

Gray didn’t deny his controversial tweet, but he did stick up for himself.

“You can ask anyone in this clubhouse who I am and what I’m about,” Gray said. “If people are going to try to question my integrity and question who I am, then so be it because I know who I am and if you know me, you know who I am.”

Time will tell how the Yankees respond to this issue, as manager Aaron Boone was done with his post-game interview by the time Gray spoke.

This is the fourth time in the last month that major leaguer has been in hot water during to old tweets. Last Sunday, offensive tweets from Atlanta Braves left-hander Sean Newcomb in 2011 and 2012 were found as he nearly pitched a no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The same day,  racially insensitive and homophobic tweets made years ago by Washington Nationals shortstop Trea Turner resurfaced.

Two weeks earlier, offensive tweets from Milwaukee Brewers reliever Josh Hader fro when he was a teenager were found on the night he pitched in the All-Star Game.

All three of those players apologized.

Gray hasn’t yet.

“If people are trying to dig stuff up, ask (Dixon),” Gray said. “He’s one of my best friends. I played with him in the Oakland organization forever. We went on numerous vacations together.”

Randy Miller may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @RandyJMiller. Find NJ.com on Facebook.