Adam Eaton Apologizes For Tweet During Oscars

By Bruce Levine--

GLENDALE, Ariz. (CBS) -- A tweet by White Sox outfielder Adam Eaton went viral Sunday night and drew criticism after he commented on comedian Chris Rock opening the Oscars with commentary on racial inequality in Hollywood and the world.

"What does it always have to be about black and white...? #American'' Eaton posted.

Some took the tweet as being short-sighted and discounting a serious, divisive issue in this country. Eaton was shaken up by the end result and deleted the tweet.

At White Sox spring training on Monday morning, he said he felt "terrible" and shed more light on the situation. He emphasized he wasn't trying to "downplay" the race issue in this country.

"I wanted to use social media to communicate with people," Eaton said. "I want to have a connection with people.

"I don't mean to harm to anyone in any of my tweets. I may poke fun back or forth with somebody. I never ever in my wildest dreams thought there would be traction. I am truly sorry if I offended anybody."

Eaton talked to the media for more than five minutes about the mistake he made. Context can be easily lost with Twitter's character limitations, and it can be a really poor vehicle when trying to be profound in your thoughts. Eaton found that out Sunday evening.

"I readily admit that was the mistake I made," Eaton said. "I thought the traction I would receive is 'We need equality, we all need to be created equal, we all need to be pushing in the right direction.' That is how I thought my tweet was worded."

Eaton will now evaluate his future use of Twitter and perhaps scale back a bit.

"It's a positive tool," Eaton said. "With that being said, I have now seen what it can be on the opposite end. A quote I intended to be on the positive thing has turn into a negative thing. I don't want anyone to think I am that kind of a person."

Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score and CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.