The Boston Red Sox and Major League Baseball have suspended outfielder Jarren Duran for two games after he uttered an anti-gay slur at a fan during the team's loss Sunday to the Houston Astros.
Duran's suspension began with Monday's game against the Texas Rangers. The Red Sox also announced that Duran's salary from the suspension will be donated to PFLAG (formerly called Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays). Duran earns $760,000 and will lose $8,172.
In the sixth inning of Boston's game Sunday at Fenway Park, Duran turned around in the middle of an at-bat and said to a heckler: "Shut up, you f---ing f----t."
Duran, 27, apologized in a statement Sunday night for using "a truly horrific word when responding to a fan."
Before answering reporters' questions in the middle of the clubhouse Monday, Duran started by further apologizing to fans whom he said reached out to him and said "they were disappointed in me."
"I'm sorry for my actions and I'm going to work on being better," the 27-year-old outfielder said, as quoted by The Associated Press.
"We all love Jarren," teammate Rob Refsnyder said after hitting a walk-off single in Boston's 5-4, 10-inning win over Texas on Monday night. "He'll learn from this. We're all human. We all make mistakes, but he'll learn from this."
President and Chief Executive Officer Sam Kennedy said the club was in touch with Major League Baseball after the game.
"It's a really difficult day, disappointing," Kennedy said, speaking to the media directly outside the clubhouse. "I'm proud of the way the organization addressed the situation and I'm proud of Jarren for acknowledging his horrific mistake."
Standing next to Kennedy, Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow said the team still had work to do.
"I think it is striking evidence that while we have made strides and done great work, we haven't done nearly enough," he said. "I think that an incident like this is an important reminder that there's ton of progress that still needs to be made."
Duran told reporters that the fan had been "heckling me the entire game and I said something I shouldn't have said."
Duran said he immediately turned and apologized to plate umpire Jordan Baker and Houston catcher Yainer Diaz "for my actions. They were right there, they heard me say it. I'm assuming they cut the mic because of my inappropriate word."
Red Sox manager Alex Cora said: "There's a lot of work to be done and I'm here to help him out."
Cora said he had spoken to Duran during the day.
"He made a big mistake, he's living with it, right," Cora said to reporters. "As a manager, I've got to do my job. As a person, there's more from my end. ... It's what I can do as a person to support him and help him to be better."
The suspension is in line with MLB's past discipline for the use of anti-gay slurs. In 2017, the league suspended Oakland Athletics outfielder Matt Joyce two games for directing an anti-gay slur at a fan. That same season, then-Toronto outfielder Kevin Pillar was banned two games after directing a slur similar to that used by Duran at Atlanta reliever Jason Motte, whom Pillar believed had struck him out on a quick pitch.
In 2012, Blue Jays infielder Yunel Escobar received a three-game suspension for wearing eye-black stickers with an anti-gay slur in Spanish.
"During tonight's game, I used a truly horrific word when responding to a fan," Duran said in a statement released by the Red Sox on Sunday. "I feel awful knowing how many people I offended and 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 and my teammates and to grow as a person."
Duran said Monday that there was no intent behind the word, and it was just "the heat of the moment."
"I think what's more important is what happens going forward," Kennedy said. "We've worked really hard the past 2½ decades to make sure that Fenway Park is a place where everyone is welcome."
Duran is in the midst of a breakout season for the Red Sox, who had lost four consecutive games before Monday's win and trail Kansas City by two games for the final wild-card spot in the American League. He ranks among the top 10 players in MLB in wins above replacement and is hitting .291/.350/.503 with 14 home runs and 29 stolen bases. Duran was named All-Star Game MVP after hitting a go-ahead home run in the fifth inning.
"We echo Jarren's apology to our fans, especially to the LGBTQ community," the Red Sox said in a statement. "We strive to be an organization that welcomes all fans to Fenway Park, and we will continue to educate our employees, players, coaches and staff on the importance of inclusivity."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.