Alex Cora reacts to Jarren Duran’s 2-game suspension

Ahead of Monday night’s series opener with the Texas Rangers, the Red Sox announced a team sanctioned two-game suspension for Jarren Duran for use of a homophobic slur on Sunday.

A hot television mic picked up audio of Duran responding to a heckler with use of the slur during Sunday’s loss to the Houston Astros.

Shortly after the team announced Duran’s suspension, manager Alex Cora made his regularly scheduled pregame media appearance. He spent the first six minutes of his 16-minute press conference on Duran.

“It’s hard to say, ‘We have to move forward,’ because we’re not moving forward, we have to work,” said Cora. “There’s a lot of work that we have to do. Not only [Duran] as a person, but us as a group. And we will do that.”

Cora said that he agreed with the decision by the organization to self-impose a two-game suspension, and emphasized that he’s there for Duan as moral support.

“Obviously the kid talked, right?” said Cora. “You know how he feels. From my end, obviously like I said, there’s a lot of work to be done. But I’m here to help him out. I reached out to him throughout the day.

“He made a big mistake. He’s living with it, right? And as a manager, I gotta do my job. As a person, there’s more from my end, right? It’s not about what’s gonna happen tonight and the roster and all that. This is what I’m gonna do as a person to support him, and help him to be better. And from my end, from my perspective, ‘Alex,’ not ‘A.C.,’ but ‘Alex’ will be there for him. I’m gonna be there for him and try to help.”

When asked if this incident compromises Duran’s position as a leader in the clubhouse, Cora said he does not believe this incident will change how he’s viewed by his teammates.

Duran said differently when he met with the media before Cora, calling himself a “terrible leader” for having an incident like this one.

Cora did not waver.

“I think I’ve been talking about him as a leader, so if I consider him a leader, I don’t see him as a terrible leader,” said Cora. “He just made a mistake.”

Cora said that the entire organization goes through a day-long sensitivity training during Spring Training down in Florida, which includes players, staff members, coaches, and members of the front office. When asked if there needs to be an even greater focus on this type of training next spring, Cora was confident that the focus is already there.

“I think the focus is there,” said Cora. “I truly believe the kid made a mistake, right? But the focus is there for the organization, and they’re very proactive about it. And they won’t stop, I know that.

“I have talked about [inclusion] for a while here. And I think the organization has been very proactive and active as far as inclusion. Just one mistake by the kid doesn’t actually show who we are or who he is, right? Obviously it was a bad moment. He’s learning from it. We are learning from the situation, and we gotta be better not only as individuals, but as an organization.”

Both Cora and Duran have spoken throughout the season about Duran’s desire to play all 162 regular season games. This suspension will keep him from accomplishing that goal, and Cora stands by the decision.

“The reason he’s not gonna play 162 is the right one, you know?” said Cora. “He’s not gonna play 162.”