Anthony Bass: 5 Things About Blue Jays Pitcher Facing Backlash After Slamming United Airlines

Anthony Bass claimed the airline made his ’22-week’ pregnant wife clean up popcorn that their daughter, 2, dropped during a flight. Find out more about him here.

• Anthony Bass is a pitcher with the Toronto Blue Jays.
• He previously played in many other Major League Baseball teams over the years.
• He recently received a lot of backlash after complaining about United Airlines in a now viral tweet.

Anthony Bass, 35, made headlines on Apr. 16, when he took to Twitter to share a photo of his five-year-old daughter and two-year-old daughter sitting on a plane that had dropped popcorn on the floor under the seat of the latter. The professional baseball player went on to release frustrations in the tweet’s caption, when he claimed a flight attendant with United Airlines made his pregnant wife, Sydney Rae James clean up the food mess. His words immediately caused mixed reactions from followers, including a lot of backlash.

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The flight attendant @united just made my 22 week pregnant wife traveling with a 5 year old and 2 year old get on her hands and knees to pick up the popcorn mess by my youngest daughter. Are you kidding me?!?! pic.twitter.com/vLYyLyJC54

— Anthony Bass (@AnthonyBass52) April 16, 2023

“The flight attendant @united just made my 22 week pregnant wife traveling with a 5 year old and 2 year old get on her hands and knees to pick up the popcorn mess by my youngest daughter. Are you kidding me?!?!” his caption read. 

One the post went public, it didn’t take long for the many responses to start coming in. “Who is supposed to clean it up?” one follower wrote. “The cleaning crew they hire!” Anthony responded. Others asked why he didn’t clean up the popcorn himself, although it’s unclear if he was on the flight or not, and some former and current flight attendants also gave their thoughts. “A flight attendant is there for safety, not to pick up after you or your children. As a former flight attendant, I speak from experience,” one shared. Despite the backlash, United Airlines also responded to assist further through private messages.

As Anthony continues to receive mixed reactions over his tweet, you can learn more about him and his career below.

Anthony is a pitcher with the Toronto Blue Jays.

The professional athlete, who was born in Dearborn, Michigan, has been playing with the team since 2022. He’s played in seven games with them so far this season, and made 73 total appearances with the Blue Jays and the Miami Marlins last year. Anthony’s MLB career started in 2011, and before he joined the Blue Jays, he previously played for many other MLB teams, including the Marlins, San Diego Padres, Houston Astros, Texas Rangers, Chicago Cubs, and Seattle Mariners.

He is the brother-in-law of country singer Jessie James.

Anthony married Jessie’s sister, Sydney Rae, in Aug. 2016 and they became family. Jessie broke into the music industry when she released her debut album in 2009. Since then, she’s released two other studio albums and many EPs. Anthony’s also the brother-in-law of Jessie’s husband, Eric Decker, a former NFL wide receiver.

Around the same time Anthony and Sydney began receiving backlash for the former’s post about United Airlines, Jessie reacted about the situation in her own Instagram message. “My sister @sydneyraebass just texted me from her flight on @united,” she wrote in the message. “As you know, she is five months pregnant, high risk, and also traveling alone with her two small children.”

“The flight attendant came up to Sydney with a trash bag, and a wet wipe, telling her the captain wants Syd to clean up every drop,” she continued. “My poor sister is on her hands and knees, crying in the aisle completely humiliated and exhausted, with her children while everyone else watched. Way to go united.”

Anthony started playing baseball as a career in college.

He played for the Wayne State Warriors from Wayne State University, which he attended after high school. He was named the 2008 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year and  was the highest MLB draft pick in Wayne State history.

He’s soon-to-be a father of three.

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The proud dad has two daughters, including one biological daughter, Brooklyn, who was born in 2017, and one adopted daughter, Blaire, who joined the family when she was just a baby in 2020. He and his wife, Sydney, shared the news that they are expecting their third child, in cute Instagram posts in Feb. and March 2023. One included a video of Sydney telling her oldest daughter about the baby in her “belly,” and another included sweet photos of both of her and Anthony’s two daughters holding a Blue Jays onesie up to the camera.

“The best surprise and miracle we could ever ask for. I still cry thinking about our sweet baby in my belly. Thank you God 🤍😭🙏 Our little miracle baby is due this August,” Sydney captioned one of the posts.

Anthony loves to share memorable moments from his life on social media.

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From epic moments on the baseball field to family memories, Anthony has shared several photos and videos from his busy days over the years. The doting husband and father also annually shares birthday tributes to his wife and daughters that help to share his love and gratitude for them. He also uses the platform to share posts that represent his religion and faith.