Quinn Simmons issued an apology through an official statement after his Trek Segafredo team suspended him for public comments on social media that it deemed "divisive, inflammatory and harmful."

Simmons caused a stir on Twitter when he responded to a Twitter post by a cycling journalist about the upcoming U.S. presidential election by calling on Trump supporters to unfollow him, replying with a dark skin-colored waving emoji and the message "Bye-bye."

It was stressed that it was racist for a white person to use a black emoji online, but Simmons insisted that he did not mean to do so.

"To those who felt that the color of the emoji was racist, I can promise you that I did not intend for it to be interpreted that way. I am strongly opposed to racism in any form and would like to apologize to all who found this offensive," the 19-year-old said in a team statement.

"To those who disagree with me politically, that's fine. It doesn't make me hate them. I just ask for the same thing."

In the first year of a two-year deal with Trek Segafredo, Simmons was suspended Wednesday night.

Today, Trek-Segafredo issued a press statement saying, "Quinn Simmons was not suspended because of his political views. He was suspended for engaging in a conversation on Twitter in a way that we felt was unbecoming of a Trek athlete."

The statement added, "Quinn Simmons was suspended because of his political views.

The organization said it "values inclusiveness and supports a more diverse and equitable sport for all athletes."

"We hold all Trek staff and management to high ethical standards, and athletes are no exception," said team manager Luca Guercilena. We believe that if Quinn can use this opportunity to grow as a person and contribute positively to a better future for cycling, he will have a bright future as a professional athlete." We remain committed to supporting Quinn in any way we can."

Simmons' Twitter account is still active, but there have been no tweets or replies since the suspension took effect.

Guercilena said at a press conference at the Giro d'Italia that the American is unlikely to race for Trek-Segafredo this season.