The Red Sox announced that they have suspended outfielder Jarren Duran for two games. During yesterday’s game, the outfielder was caught on microphone using a homophobic slur in response to a heckler (X link with video, including audio of the slur, from Awful Announcing).
“In consultation with Major League Baseball, the Red Sox today issued an unpaid two-game suspension to outfielder Jarren Duran beginning with tonight’s game against the Texas Rangers at Fenway Park,” the club statement says. “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 two-game suspension is the same length as one received by outfielder Kevin Pillar in 2017, then with the Blue Jays, for using the same slur. Duran spoke with members of the media, including Alex Speier of The Boston Globe (X link), apologizing for the incident. He said the suspension is less important than the hurt he caused. “It’s on me. It’s my fault. … it’s a dumb mistake on my part and I’m going to learn from it.”
The Red Sox will be able to add a replacement to their roster and play with a full 26-man squad, per Christopher Smith of MassLive on X. It’s not immediately clear who will be replacing Duran on the roster.
