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“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,” said the 27-year-old. “There was no intent behind the word that was used. It was just the heat of the moment and just happened to be said. It’s on me for that word coming out.”
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While Duran’s tone and words conveyed contrition, however, his choice of apparel potentially undermined his message.
Duran wore a T-shirt with a profane message, “[Expletive] ‘em,” in front of the assembled cameras. He wears the shirt regularly to signal defiance in the face of mental health struggles and questions of self-worth.
But for those unfamiliar with the deeply personal meaning of the slogan – and even some who are – the shirt introduced the possibility of unnecessary confusion to an apology that needed to be unconditional.
“If there’s a swear word on a shirt . . . I don’t think that’s appropriate right now at this particular moment,” said Sox president and CEO Sam Kennedy.
As an organization, the Sox want to stand for inclusiveness. The team was one of the first in Major League Baseball to introduce a Pride Night to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community in 2013 and has tried to forge a commitment that runs deeper than a marketable event.
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Yet in consecutive years the Sox have had to answer for the pain caused by their players to that group. In 2023, the Sox promoted journeyman pitcher Matt Dermody to the big leagues despite multiple homophobic social media posts. Dermody was subsequently released. And on Monday, the organization was left once again to apologize for one of its players.
“We’ve worked really hard over these past two and a half decades to make sure that Fenway Park is a place where everyone feels welcome,” said Kennedy. “There’s a lot of incredible work that’s being done, a lot of positive momentum. But a day like today is a reminder that we have a lot more work to do.
“You feel like it’s a massive setback [to] the organizational values that we try to live every day. When something like that happens, we’ve fallen short of meeting that goal. And you also just sort of ask yourself, how could this be possible? How could this happen? We have had lots of conversations about who we are, what we stand for, what we value.”
Duran expressed regret that his words could be seen as an affront to the principle of inclusiveness.
“I don’t think that my actions should represent what the team and MLB represent. It was just a bad moment on my part, and I’m owning up to it and apologizing for it,” said Duran. “There was no intent to harm anybody or any organization in any way. It was just a dumb mistake on my part that I’m gonna learn from.”
Duran and members of the Red Sox suggested that accountability in the form of the suspension and apology represented a necessary but insufficient first step that must be followed by education and sincere, empathetic engagement with the LGBTQ+ community.
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“Just one mistake by the kid doesn’t show who we are or who he is. Obviously it was a bad moment. He’s learned from it. We’re learning from the situation and we’re going to be better not only as individuals, but as an organization,” said Sox manager Alex Cora. “It’s hard to say we have to move forward. 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.”
On Monday, Duran – who’d played in the Red Sox’ first 116 games of the season – acknowledged that his on-field work and the continuation of his streak was less meaningful than what he had to do to try to diminish the harm he’d caused.
“[Not playing] is not the most important thing right now,” said Duran. “Trying to be better and learn from my mistake of what I said is the most important thing right now.”
Alex Speier can be reached at alex.speier@globe.com. Follow him @alexspeier.
