What the fan said was relatively harmless.
On Sunday afternoon, a frustrated individual at Fenway Park hollered in the direction of Red Sox center fielder Jarren Duran, who was in the middle of an at-bat against the Houston Astros.
“Tennis racket. Tennis racket. You need a tennis racket.”
Nothing particularly pointed or offensive. Nothing about the player’s family. Just a typical, run-of-the-mill chirp.
Duran’s reaction was disproportionately volatile. He turned back toward the stands as he dug into the box, looked toward the fan in question and hurled an anti-gay slur in the heckler’s direction.
Because Duran was standing at home plate, within earshot of a multitude of microphones, his homophobic language was picked up on the Red Sox broadcast. Before the game had even ended, Duran’s comment was making the rounds on social media.
The team issued a pair of statements following the game, one on Duran’s behalf and one for the organization.
On Monday, the team announced that it had suspended its All-Star center fielder for two games without pay. The money that Duran would have been paid — around $8,500 — will be donated to PFLAG, an organization dedicated to LGBTQ+ advocacy.
The punishment will kick in immediately, making Duran, who was on track to appear in all 162 games this season, unavailable Monday and Tuesday against the Texas Rangers. It’s an obvious blow to Boston’s lineup; the team has lost four in a row and sits three games out of a playoff spot.
Just a week ago, the MLB world mourned the death of Billy Bean, the second openly gay retired player in league history. Bean, who died at 60 from leukemia, retired from playing in 1995 and later worked for the league for 10 years, beginning in 2014 as an Ambassador of Inclusion and then becoming the league’s Senior Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and a Special Assistant to the commissioner. His impact behind the scenes was profound. Bean would travel the country to speak with players, building networks and relationships along the way. By telling his own story as a once-closeted gay man in baseball, he hoped to educate the next generation about how to create a more accepting atmosphere around the game he loved.
This incident with Duran is an unfortunate reminder that the cause to which Bean dedicated the last decade of his life remains woefully unfinished. The word Duran used, quite simply, is unacceptable. He crossed a line and must now face the consequences.
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