Jarren Duran, the 27-year-old star outfielder for the Boston Red Sox, returned to the field Wednesday night after being caught responding to a fan with the words “fucking faggot” during a home game last Sunday.
That day, during the sixth inning of the game, an unidentified heckler yelled, “You need a tennis racket!”
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The 6’2″ left-hander was then recorded on an outfield microphone as he uttered the offensive insult.
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Duran was suspended for two games without pay and agreed to undergo sensitivity training.
“It’s still something that bothers me terribly,” he said on Wednesday.
NESN microphones caught Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran calling a heckling fan a “fucking asshole” during Sunday’s game.
The Red Sox announced the suspension on Monday and said Duran’s salary for the two games he missed would be donated to PFLAG. Duran apologized after Sunday night’s game against the Astros, which the Red Sox lost 10-2.
“I used a really horrible word when I responded to a fan. I feel terrible thinking about how many people I offended and disappointed,” he said. “I apologize to the entire Red Sox organization, but more importantly to the entire LGBTQ+ community. Our young fans should be able to look up to me as a role model, but tonight I fell far short of that responsibility.”
Sunday night’s game included a youth sports program event called “Kids Run the Bases.”
Duran’s teammate Liam Hendriks, the Red Sox relief pitcher and a well-known ally of the LGBTQ+ movement, defended Duran’s performance after the suspension.
“It’s not something he does all the time or anything like that. It wasn’t demeaning in any way. It’s just unfortunately a word that is used in times of frustration and that needs to be eradicated,” Henricks said. The Boston Globe.
“It’s not that he’s an anti-LGBT guy or anything. It’s just that he slipped the tongue and said the wrong word. We’re going to move on from this as a team,” Hendricks continued, adding, “(The insult) had nothing to do with this community.”
According to Outsports baseball columnist Ken Schultz, Duran has struggled with mental health issues in the past. However, Hendricks excuses the player’s outburst as a “slip of the tongue” and besides the point.
“The moment Duran lost control, he immediately launched into hate speech,” Schultz wrote. “His insult on camera showed that there is still a part of him that reverts to homophobic bigotry when he loses it.”
“For a teammate to come to his aid by telling us that homophobic slurs have nothing to do with our community,” Schultz added, “feels like gaslighting.”
