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Pedro apologizes for making offensive Native American joke on air

Erick Fernandez / Twitter

Pedro Martinez has apologized for making an offensive gesture at the expense of Native Americans on Monday.

After the Cleveland Indians completed a three-game sweep of the Boston Red Sox on Monday, the former big-league pitcher and current Hall of Famer - currently joining TBS as an analyst for the MLB postseason - made an ill-advised joke on air that saw him earn heavy criticism on social media.

"I used to hunt Indians, but now I'm going to pay tribute to the Indians," Martinez said before wailing in an offensive and stereotypical war cry.

To make matters worse, Monday is Columbus Day in the United States, a statutory holiday honoring Christopher Columbus' arrival to the Americas that's been met with opposition from Native Americans across the United States.

Martinez later took to his Twitter account to apologize for the offensive joke.

"I send my apologies if I was misunderstood when I was trying to pay tribute to the Cleveland Indians on the TBS post season show," he tweeted.

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