Atlanta Braves pitching coach Roger McDowell – he of the simulated baseball bat sex and threeway gay slur – has been placed on administrative leave.

The Major League Baseball team moved quickly to quell a festering controversy since reports became public this week that McDowell pitched gay taunts – the most graphic allegedly included shouting “Are you three giving it to each other in the ass?” – at fans before the team’s game in San Francisco on April 23.

The Braves haven’t completed their probe into the incident and McDowell’s future with the club is not yet clear. Once they do, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig has said the league may take action.

The statement from the Braves on McDowell’s leave:

The Atlanta Braves have placed pitching coach Roger McDowell on administrative leave pending the completion of the investigation surrounding the events from this past Saturday in San Francisco.

In the interim, Minor League pitching coordinator, Dave Wallace will serve as the team’s acting pitching coach.

On Thursday, Georgia Equality called McDowell a “bully” for his actions and demanded that the Braves offer “stronger action” than the apology offered by the coach and the team’s statement distancing the organization from the tirade.

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, a gay media watchdog, has called on the Braves and MLB to punish McDowell.

On Wednesday, high-profile attorney Gloria Allred held a press conference with a fan who confronted McDowell over his comments on Saturday and demonstrated the sexually-suggestive actions McDowell made during the incident.