Red Sox
“It’s hard to say, ‘We have to move forward,’ because we’re not moving forward.”
The Red Sox announced on Monday that outfielder Jarren Duran will be suspended two games after directing a homophobic slur toward a fan during Sunday’s game against the Astros at Fenway Park.
Duran’s two-game suspension will be unpaid, while his salary for the two games will be donated to PFLAG (Federation of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays). The Red Sox described PFLAG in a statement as the “United States’ largest organization dedicated to supporting, educating, and advocating for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people and those who love them.”
Duran, Red Sox manager Alex Cora, and several other Red Sox personnel addressed the media on Monday to discuss Duran’s comments.
“I’ve had some fans reach out to me and tell me that they’re disappointed in me, and I just want to let them know that I’m sorry for my actions and that I’m going to work on being better for them,” Duran told reporters, adding: “There was no intent behind the word that was used. It was just the heat of the moment and just happened to be said. It’s on me for that word coming out. But there was no intent behind that word being used.”
During the sixth inning of Sunday’s game at Fenway Park, NESN’s broadcast caught Duran exchanging words with a heckling fan. NESN’s microphones recorded the fan yelling “Tennis racket!” toward the outfielder as he stood up at the plate against Astros starter Hunter Brown.
Duran then turned toward the fan and yelled back, “Shut up you [expletive, expletive].”
“I actually apologized to the umpire and the catcher for my actions because they were right there. They heard me say it,” Duran said of his immediate response after responding to the fan.
During his pregame media availability, Cora addressed Duran’s comments.
“It’s hard to say, ‘We have to move forward,’ because we’re not moving forward, we have to work,” Cora said. “There’s a lot of work that we have to do. Not only [Duran] as a person, but us as a group. And we will do that. … He made a big mistake. He’s living with it, right? And as a manager, I gotta do my job. As a person, there’s more from my end, right?
“It’s not about what’s gonna happen tonight and the roster and all that. This is what I’m gonna do as a person to support him, and help him to be better. And from my end, from my perspective, ‘Alex,’ not ‘A.C.,’ but ‘Alex’ will be there for him. I’m gonna be there for him and try to help.”
Duran, who is in the midst of a breakout season and was named All-Star Game MVP last month, stressed that his actions put his team in a terrible spot.
“I’m a terrible leader,” Duran said. “I shouldn’t have said that word and I know I’m going to get looked down on for saying it. It’s my own fault because I brought it upon myself.”
Even with his candid thoughts on Duran’s comments, Cora did push back against his outfielder’s comments that he’s not a good leader.
“I think I’ve been talking about him as a leader, so if I consider him a leader, I don’t see him as a terrible leader,” said Cora. “He just made a mistake. … The focus is there for the organization, and they’re very proactive about it. And they won’t stop, I know that.
“I have talked about [inclusion] for a while here. And I think the organization has been very proactive and active as far as inclusion. Just one mistake by the kid doesn’t actually show who we are or who he is, right? Obviously it was a bad moment. He’s learning from it. We are learning from the situation, and we gotta be better not only as individuals, but as an organization.”
As for his comments about the length of his suspension, Duran didn’t want to spend much time discussing Boston’s disciplinary measures. Prior to Monday, Duran started all 116 games for the Red Sox this season.
“That’s not the most important thing right now,” Duran said of his suspension. “It’s just trying to be better and learn from my mistake of what I said. That’s the most important thing right now.”
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