The usually innocuous Red Sox Twitter account briefly became the subject of controversy on Monday night in what was a case of poor timing.
“So how was everyone’s Monday?” read a tweet published approximately 15 minutes after a St. Louis grand jury did not bring criminal charges against Darren Wilson, the white police officer who fatally shot unarmed African-American teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., earlier this year.
The decision touched off protests in the Ferguson area and elsewhere in the country.
The tweet was in reference to the Red Sox signing free agents Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez. But in the fast-moving world of social media, the Sox were criticized for a perceived lack of sensitivity and the tweet was soon deleted without explanation.
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“OMG, #clueless,” wrote Twitter user @JeffKSU21.
The Red Sox responded about two hours later.
“The intent of the tweet was in reference to a busy day at Fenway. However, the message was ill timed and deleted immediately given tonight’s national news,” team spokesman Kevin Gregg said.
Peter Abraham can be reached at pabraham@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @PeteAbe.