Chipper Jones Apologizes For Offensive Twitter Joke About Illegal Immigration

Retired Atlanta Braves star third baseman Chipper Jones apologized on Twitter Sunday after writing a post with an ill-advised joke about illegal immigration the day before.

"I realize that my tweet yest was offensive and distasteful. An attempt at humor was a terrible mistake. Please accept my heartfelt apology!" he wrote.

The original Tweet had been retweeted over 2,000 times and attracted angry responses from Twitter users, who denounced a joke in which he suggested using alligators to secure the United States' border with Mexico.

"Y'all think if they took all them gators they trap in Fla and La and put them in the Rio Grande, it wud stop the illegals from crossing? Jk", Jones wrote on Saturday.

Others weighed in on his tweet.

USA Today noted that the third baseman, who retired in 2012 after 19 years in Major League Baseball, has cultivated an outspoken presence on Twitter. In May he lashed out at those who criticized his posts in which he weighed in on players for the Colorado Rockies, saying, "Oh that's right! I forgot all the ex big leaguers that r following me, that know better than me, who is a better shortstop. Please people..." A month before, Jones had defended former Rutgers basketball coach Mike Rice, who was fired after a video surfaced showing him manhandling players.

"I got cursed at and called names by a ton of people growing up. Were they fired? Nope! Do I care? Nope! What's the big deal? Toughen up!" Jones wrote.

The month before that, sportswriter Pete Gaines earned the wrath of the former Braves star after suggesting Jones "go do some adultery and steroids" (Jones was reported years ago to have fathered a child out of wedlock) in a Twitter post. Jones responded to the insult with post after post attacking the sportswriter and his fiancé, with whom Gaines appeared in a photo on the media platform. Gaines later published an account of the run-in with Jones.