Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran went from flying high as one of the team's best players this year in a season where he's started every game for the team and won All-Star Game MVP to crashing on Sunday when he was caught using a homophobic slur during the team's series finale against the Houston Astros.
The incident resulted in Boston issuing Duran a two-game unpaid suspension which will start on Monday night as the Red Sox take on the Texas Rangers.
Prior to that contest, Durran spoke to the media in the locker room about what happened and the fallout.
"Before we get started, I just wanna kinda 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 I'm sorry for my actions and that I'm gonna work on being better for them, Durran said."
Durran confirmed that he had heard from the MLB and the club, and when he was asked if there would be more penalties, he simply said "I'm suspended two games."
What caused this outburst from the outfielder in the midst of his best season for the Red Sox?
"It was just a heckler heckling me the entire game," Duran said. "I just let the moment get the best of me and just said something I shouldn't be saying. I actually apologized to the umpire and the catcher for my actions because they were right there. They heard me say it. But, 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."
But, why did Duran choose the slur in the first place? He wanted to make sure everyone knew that he didn't mean anything by it.
"There was no intent behind the word that was used," Duran 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."
Asked if the slur is a term that he's used frequently, Duran responded "No, not at all. It was just the heat of the moment. There was no intent behind the word. It was just the heat of the moment. It just happened to happen."
Baseball fans and LGBTQ+ supporters have taken to social media to attack Duran, and he explained exactly what the blowback has been like.
"A lot of fans just commenting on my pictures and stuff like that and telling me horrible things about myself," Duran said. "I guess I earned that by saying a word that I shouldn't be saying, so I guess it's understandable. They have their freedom for what they want to say about me. It's understandable. I'm just sorry for the words I said."
He was hard on himself with the media, especially when it came to questions about his leadership and role with the team.
"I'm a terrible leader," he said. "I know I shouldn't have said that word. I know I'm gonna get looked down on for saying it, and it's my own fault because I brought it upon myself."
The 27-year-old said he hasn't really spoken to the rest of the guys in the clubhouse and doesn't want his actions to be viewed as a stain on baseball, his teammates or the Red Sox.
"I haven't really interacted with any of my teammates," Duran said. "I've kinda just been trying to keep my space from them. I don't want to bug them with something that I did, and I don't want to get them wrapped up in all this. It's on me. It's my fault, and I just need to be better.
"It's very inclusive. I don't think my actions should represent the team and the MLB represent. It was just a bad moment on my part. I'm owning up for it and apologizing for it. But, there was no intent to harm anybody or any organization in any way. It was just a dumb mistake on my part."
For now, Duran is just trying to let everyone know that he's sorry for what happened and then he'll start to do more work on himself.
"My main focus has just been to apologize," he said. "I haven't gotten to that point of learning what I need to do, but that's something that we're definitely gonna talk about in the next couple of days or even today. I'm sure I'll learn from that."
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