Red Sox OF Duran suspended for anti-gay slur

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 will begin 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 (Federation of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays).

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.”

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 uttering a similar slur to Duran at Atlanta reliever Jason Motte, who he believed had struck him out on a quick pitch.

Five years earlier, Blue Jays infielder Yunel Escobar received a three-game suspension for wearing eye-black stickers with a Spanish slur.

“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 is in the midst of a breakout season for the Red Sox, who have lost four consecutive games to fall three games behind Kansas City 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.”