A major league baseball player will be sent for “sensitivity training” after it emerged he sent a slew of homophobic and racist tweets as a teenager.

Josh Hader, the 24-year-old pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers, faced a storm when his Twitter history emerged – while he was busy playing in Tuesday’s 2018 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

In messages dating from 2011 to 2012, he wrote “I hate gay people” and “Gay people freak me out, this dude comes in with pony shirts and a pony mal bag #thefuck”.

Hader also repeatedly tweeted the N-word in racist messages and made allusions to the KKK. The messages were sent when he was 17 and 18.

The messages surfaced online partway through the July 17 All-Star Game, and the player attempted to apologiZe in a subsequent press conference.

Major League Baseball has since released a statement revealing that Hader will be required to undergo “sensitivity training”.

A MLB spokesperson said: “During last night’s game we became aware of Mr. Hader’s unacceptable social media comments in years past and have since been in communication with the Brewers regarding our shared concerns.

“After the game, Mr. Hader took the necessary step of expressing remorse for his highly offensive and hurtful language, which fails to represent the values of our game and our expectations for all those who are a part of it.

“The Office of the Commissioner will require sensitivity training for Mr. Hader and participation in MLB’s diversity and inclusion initiatives.”

The Milwaukee Brewers said: “We have been in contact with Josh and he is fully aware of the severity of the situation related to his social media comments, regardless of the timeline of his posts.

“His comments are inexcusable, and he is taking full responsibility for the consequences of his actions. In no way do these sentiments reflect the views of the Brewers organization or our community.