During Sunday night’s horrendous Red Sox 10-2 loss to the Houston Astros, Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran launched the ultimate LGBTQ slur at a fan. This ugly slur comes just a week after the death of Billy Bean who was an executive in the MLB front office & dedicated his life to ensuring MLB is a welcoming space for LGBTQ athletes. We believe that not only should Duran go through an educational program about his usage of this awful language but MLB commissioner Rob Manfred should suspend him for at least 20 games. In 2017 Oakland Athletics outfielder Matt Joyce was suspended by MLB for two games after directing a similar epithet toward a fan & the same year the Toronto Blue Jays suspended former Red Sox & outfielder Kevin Pillar for 2 games without pay after directing a homophobic slur toward an opposing pitcher. Though Duran apologized for his behavior stating, “During today's game, I used a truly horrific word when responding to a fan. I feel awful knowing how many people I offended & disappointed. I apologize to the entire Red Sox organization, but more importantly to the entire LGBTQ community. Our young fans are supposed to be able to look up to me as a role model, but tonight I fell far short of that responsibility. I will use this opportunity to educate myself & my teammates & to grow as a person.” This is a horrendous incident needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. This is Massachusetts where marriage equality began 20 years ago & we need to send a powerful message that any hate language or action will not be tolerated in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
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