Why MLB players are changing their Twitter avatars en masse as lockout begins

With MLB and the MLBPA currently locked in a cold war, the league took some seemingly drastic steps to try and Thanos snap away any memory of players: At the stroke of midnight on Dec. 2, the league decided to wipe MLB.com of any reference of current players, stories and more.

There’s actually a reason for it, dumb or not: Because of the lockout, MLB can’t use the players’ images for benefit. It’s seemingly a legal thing, in short.

“Until a new agreement is reached, there will be limitations on the type of content we display,” MLB said in a statement on its site. “As a result, you will see a lot more content that focuses on the game’s rich history. Once a new agreement is reached, the up-to-the minute news and analysis you have come to expect will continue as usual.”

MORE: What you need to know about the MLB lockout

Well, challenge accepted: In response to MLB trying to wipe the existence of the players — legal ramifications or not — the players decided to take the fight right back to MLB with a hilarious counter-punch: Some players changed their Twitter avatars to the same nameless, faceless placeholder images on the MLB website on Thursday.

The players and the league are reportedly very, very far apart on any sort of deal, meaning the ill will is going to cut through winter, potentially right up to Opening Day. 

Public displays of aggression during sports labor disputes are oftentimes the equivalent of a slap-fight between two drunk, blindfolded hobos. That stuff’s usually entertaining, so count us all in for a winter of this nonsense.