When Farhan Zaidi started working in baseball in 2005 as a data analysis assistant for the Oakland Athletics, the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 still cast a long shadow across North America.
asserted
attacks → start → America
“I felt like I needed to sort of suppress my identity and not talk about being a Muslim and just kind of like try to assimilate and blend in,” said Zaidi, who spent part of his 50th birthday doing an interview for “Deep Left Field,” the Star’s baseball podcast.
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who → feel → Field
The Sudbury-born, Pakistan-raised Zaidi, an MIT and Berkeley alum with a PhD in economics, says things have come a long way in the industry since then.
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things → bear → industry
Anthony Santander brought a lot of that ugliness back.
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Santander → bring → ugliness
The Blue Jays outfielder amplified vile, Islamophobic posts on his Instagram account in the wake of last week’s U.S. midterm elections.
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outfielder → amplify → elections
The posts were almost immediately deleted, and it took Santander a week-and-a-half to address them.
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it → delete → them
“I’ve got thick skin, I’ve seen a lot,” said Zaidi, currently a special assistant with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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Zaidi → get → Dodgers
“But I really thought about (my family) that live in Toronto …
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that → think → Toronto
It’s a big Muslim, big Pakistani-Canadian community in Toronto and the surrounding areas.
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It → ’ → Toronto
I have so many cousins and nieces and nephews who were born in Canada, who are first-generation Canadians, and those around Toronto, they love the Blue Jays.
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they → have → Jays
They love the Blue Jays so much they wouldn’t even talk to me during the 2025 World Series.
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they → love → Series
“I think about them growing up, supporting the team, and having one of their players — even though it was a retweet or whatever — condone that talk.
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it → think → talk
It’s sad …
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It → ’ → ?
I think about myself growing up and I just can’t imagine what that would feel like.”
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that → think → what
Zaidi, who took a special interest in trying to root out what he called the subtle forms of discrimination against non-English speakers in baseball, was especially surprised to see such ugliness from Santander, who is a native Spanish speaker from Venezuela.
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who → take → Venezuela
“For anybody in baseball for whom English is not a first language, it becomes really difficult to communicate and I think because (of that), they’re often in a shell and you don’t hear from them as much,” said Zaidi, who spent six years as the San Francisco Giants’ president of baseball operations.
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who → become → operations
“They might be branded as moody or not good teammates, I’ve seen it a lot in the course of my time.
uncertain
I → brand → time
So to see it coming from somebody who’s been part of that, and probably dealt with some of this himself … you would expect a little bit more empathy.”
Did the Blue Jays respond fast enough?
Even with all of that, Zaidi agrees with leaders in the Muslim community here in Canada who have said that they see this situation as an opportunity to educate Santander, not to punish him.
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they → see → him
“For me personally, and I think for a lot of Muslims, people aren’t out for blood,” Zaidi said.
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Zaidi → think → blood
“I don’t want this to be a career-ender for Anthony Santander, but I want people to stand up and say, ‘Hey, this is not OK.’
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this → want → Santander
And I think the Blue Jays did that.”
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Jays → think → that
They did, but it took them a week.
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it → do → week
The Jays’ first statement, made after the story broke, was a blanket “baseball is for everyone,” mentioning neither Santander nor Islamophobia.
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baseball → make → Santander
The Jays put out a new statement Thursday, with president and CEO Mark Shapiro apologizing to the Muslim community and condemning Islamophobia and all forms of hate.
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Shapiro → put → hate
In a statement issued Friday, Santander apologized for not being “more thoughtful about what I shared, recognizing the responsibility that comes with having a public voice.
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that → issue → voice
It’s notable that Santander apologized for sharing the content, not for consuming that type of content.
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Santander → ’ → content
Santander referred to himself as a man of faith and said he believes that every person deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.
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person → refer → dignity
He said he realizes the content he shared fell short of his own convictions.
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he → say → convictions
“You can’t force a player to say certain things or do certain things, but you can express your disapproval and disappointment,” said Zaidi, drawing on his lengthy front-office experience.
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Zaidi → force → experience
Can the Blue Jays void Santander’s contract?
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Jays → void → contract
There’s also no easy out for the Jays, given that they owe Santander $57 million (U.S.) over the next three years.
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they → ’ → years
Zaidi said he doesn’t believe the Jays will be able to void the contract through a morals clause or code of conduct violation, even if they wanted to.
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they → say → conduct
“There are very stringent conditions under which a contract should be voided, and I don’t think this rises to that level,” said Zaidi.
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Zaidi → be → level
“That’s not expert opinion, but I don’t believe so.”
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I → ’ → ?
Toronto searching for upgrades in rotation and bullpen, with a few familiar names involved in trade chatter.
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names → search → chatter
Toronto searching for upgrades in rotation and bullpen, with a few familiar names involved in trade chatter.
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names → search → chatter
What Zaidi does believe is that this never should have happened in the first place.
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this → believe → place
At one point in the conversation, he wanted to speak from the vantage point of a citizen of Canada and a member of society in general, not as a Muslim specifically.
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he → want → Muslim
“I look at this whole situation,” he said.
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he → look → situation
“Anthony Santander had a great career in Baltimore and signed a big contract coming to the Blue Jays.
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Santander → have → Jays
…and 4 more, not listed.
The Aporia
