MLB Suspends Player for Using Anti-Gay Slur, Then Gives Away Part of His Salary to Pro-LGBT Group
Editor’s Note: Our readers responded strongly to this story when it originally ran; we’re reposting it here in case you missed it.
Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran has been slapped with a two-game unpaid suspension after using a homophobic slur in responding to a heckler who was needling him on Aug. 11 at Fenway Park.
But that’s not all.
“In consultation with Major League Baseball, the Red Sox on Monday issued an unpaid two-game suspension to outfielder Jarren Duran beginning with tonight’s game against the Texas Rangers at Fenway Park,” the Red Sox said in a statement, according to Fox News.
“Additionally, Duran’s salary from the two-game suspension will be donated to PFLAG (Federation of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), the United States’ largest organization dedicated to supporting, educating, and advocating for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people and those who love them,” the team said.
Breaking: The Red Sox and MLB have suspended Jarren Duran for two games after he uttered an anti-gay slur at a fan during Sunday’s game.
The team announced that Duran’s salary from the suspension will be donated to PFLAG (Federation of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays). pic.twitter.com/MkIbFF3rSu
— ESPN (@espn) August 12, 2024
Video showed that a fan heckled Duran, telling him he would need a tennis racket to hit a pitch, according to NBC.
During the sixth inning of Boston’s 10-2 loss to the Houston Astros, Duran turned around and called to the heckler, “Shut up, you f***ing f*****,” according to ESPN.
The flow of apologies began on Aug. 11 in a statement released by the team.
“During tonight’s game, I used a truly horrific word when responding to a fan,” Duran said in a statement.
“I feel awful knowing how many people I offended and disappointed. I apologize to the entire Red Sox organization, but more importantly to the entire LGBTQ community,” he said.
“Our young fans are supposed to be able to look up to me as a role model, but tonight I fell far short of that responsibility. I will use this opportunity to educate myself and my teammates and to grow as a person.”
On Aug. 12, he ascribed the comment to “the heat of the moment.”
The fan was “heckling me the entire game, and I said something I shouldn’t have said,” he said.
Duran said after he spoke, he apologized to the umpire and Texas catcher “for my actions. They were right there, they heard me say it. I’m assuming they cut the mic because of my inappropriate word.”
Duran said, fans who reached out to him said “they were disappointed in [him].”
Two-game suspensions for anti-guy slurs have been issued before, including twice in the 2017 season.
According to Forbes, Duran is being paid $760,000 this season.
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