All-Star Game MVP Jarren Duran wants you to believe that the horrific anti-gay outburst at a fan at Fenway Park on Sunday was just a “heat of the moment” thing.
I dunno, that “shut up, you f—ing f—-t” kind of seemed to roll off his tongue.
Duran’s team, the Boston Red Sox, and MLB announced Monday that Duran had been given a slap-on-the-wrist suspension, two games, for the slur.
The team also announced that Duran’s salary for the two games will be donated to PFLAG, which advertises itself as “the nation’s largest organization dedicated to supporting, educating, and advocating for LGBTQ+ people and those who love them.”
According to Sportrac, Duran, a fourth-year MLB veteran, is working this season on a one-year, $760,000 contract, so his pay for two games would come to $9,382.71.
Duran’s excuse: a fan behind home plate had been “heckling me the entire game, and I said something I shouldn’t have said.”
Duran, who is slashing .291/.350/.503 with 14 home runs and 29 stolen bases this season, and ranks in the top 10 in MLB in WAR, said he immediately turned and apologized to the home plate umpire, Jordan Baker, and Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz.
“They were right there, they heard me say it. I’m assuming they cut the mic because of my inappropriate word,” Duran told reporters on Monday.
Again, I dunno, that might come across more like, he’s sorry he got caught than, he’s sorry that he said something that seemed to come so easily out of his mouth that he probably says that kind of thing on a regular basis.
“I’m sorry for my actions, and I’m going to work on being better,” Duran said.
Maybe he actually tries to learn something from this, and it’s a teaching moment for him and for others, though a quick search of social media will quickly disabuse you of any notion that the others are going to learn anything from it.
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Chris Graham
