By Jen McCaffrey and Hunter Patterson
Aug 12, 2024
BOSTON — Moments after the home clubhouse opened on Monday afternoon, Jarren Duran stepped in front of a larger-than-normal group of reporters and cameras.
The Boston Red Sox suspended Duran, who’d played in all 116 games this season, for two games without pay for his use of a hom*ophobic slur directed at a fan in Sunday’s game.
The #RedSox today issued a two-game suspension to Jarren Duran. pic.twitter.com/YlinXxOAWy
— Red Sox (@RedSox) August 12, 2024
“Before we get started, I just wanted to kind of say that I’ve had some fans reach out to me and tell me that they’re disappointed in me and I just wanted to let them know that I’m sorry for my actions and I’m gonna work on being better for them,” Duran said.
The 2024 All-Star Game MVP has been among the most valuable players on the Red Sox roster this season amidst a breakout year in which he’s hit .291 with an .853 OPS. Duran hung his head as he spoke, infrequently looking up for eye contact, while wearing a shirt he’s worn all season that read ‘F— ‘em’. Duran has been open about his mental health struggles and often wears the shirt as a reminder to block out the noise.
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“There was no intent behind the word that was used,” he said. “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.”
Duran said in the moment he recognized he should not have used the word he did and said he’d made a careless mistake.
“I actually apologized to the umpire and the catcher for my actions because they were right there. They heard me say it,” he said.
“I’m assuming they cut the mic because of my inappropriate words so it wasn’t picked up. But I know that I was apologizing to them for the word I had said.”
In addition to Duran’s two-game suspension, his combined salary from the two games, roughly $8,200, 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 their loved ones.
“We were on the phone with Major League Baseball last night, immediately after addressing the issue with Jarren, so they were very heavily involved in the discussion and the outcome of the suspension,” Red Sox CEO Sam Kennedy said.
Players, coaches, front office members and all involved in baseball operations for every MLB team go through a one-day session each spring on diversity, equity and inclusion. When asked if there was a need for more training, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow admitted the need for work.
“I think it is striking evidence that while we may have made strides and done great work, we haven’t done nearly enough,” Breslow said. “I think an incident like this is an important reminder that there’s still a ton of progress that needs to be made. And at the same time, I think we can acknowledge that Jarren has shown himself to be immediately accountable and is striving to do better, and we all can connect with that.”
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Manager Alex Cora has often referred to the 27-year-old Duran during his fourth big league season as a clubhouse leader for his everyday presence and how he’s gone about his work. Sunday’s incident called into question Duran’s leadership skills.
“I mean, I’m a terrible leader, I know I shouldn’t have said that word,” Duran said. “And I know I’m gonna get looked down on for saying it and it’s my own fault because I brought up on myself.”
Cora, who was suspended for a year by MLB for his part in the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal, took a different tone.
“I don’t think it compromises who he is in the clubhouse,” Cora said. “The kid made a mistake and like I said before, there will be stuff that we have to do to help him out. There’s stuff he’ll have to do to keep getting better…. We know where we’re at as a group and where he’s at as a person. I don’t think things are going to change, the way they see him.”
Breslow added: “It is complicating. It’s disappointing and frustrating. I think at the same time, we see that Jarren as a leader that he may be is also flawed. We all are.”
The avoidable incident comes at a time when the Red Sox began Monday three games back of the third wild card spot in the American League East and will now be without one of their best players for the next two games.
“It’s hard to say we have to move forward,” Cora said. “We’re not moving forward. We have to work. There’s a lot of work we have to do – not only Jarren as a person, but us as a group. We will do that, but it’s been going on the whole day.
(Photo: Megan Briggs / Getty Images)
