MLB umpire Rob Drake threatens Civil War over impeachment, deletes tweet

MLB umpire Rob Drake apologizes for controversial tweet

As the Nationals take on the Astros in the World Series, officials with Major League Baseball are talking about an off-the-field incident involving one of the league's longtime umpires.

Rob Drake posted on Twitter he has an AR-15 rifle "because if you impeach MY PRESIDENT this way, YOU WILL HAVE ANOTHER CIVAL (sic) WAR!!! #MAGA2020," ESPN reported.

The tweet was deleted shortly after posting, and hours later Drake shut down his account temporarily, USA Today reported.

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He has since apologized for the statement.

"I'm going to learn from this. Once I read what I had tweeted I realized the violence in those words and have since deleted it. I know that I cannot unsay the words, but please accept my apologies," he wrote on Twitter.

The Major League Umpires Association called Drake "a passionate individual," but admitted, "He chose the wrong way to convey his opinion about our great country," USA Today reported.

Drake umpired his first major league game in 1999, but has been a full-time MLB umpire since 2010. He was part of the umpire pool for the postseason in 2010 and 2012 through 2015. He was also an umpire at the All-Star Game in 2013, ESPN reported.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred told the sports network that the league is looking into the tweet, but did not go into detail with ESPN.