Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow says the Sox are backing outfielder Jarren Duran, who made an obscene gesture towards fans in Minnesota Tuesday night and later told reporters the fan had taunted him about suicidal ideation.
“It was a really terrible and unfortunate situation. Jarren said that he should not have reacted the way that he did but also there’s no place in our game for comments like the one that was directed at him. So, we give Jarren our full support,” Breslow told ‘The Greg Hill Show’ during a regular appearance. “We’ve reached out to him to make sure that he knows that. He’s been really open about his mental health challenges through the years and I think that’s had a very positive impact on a lot of people.”
Duran gave the middle finger to the stands after grounding out in the 6th inning Tuesday, during a Red Sox loss.
In the clubhouse, he told reporters, "Somebody just told me to kill myself. I'm used to it at this point, you know?"
Duran opened up about a suicide attempt in his past in a Netflix docuseries released last year.
"Honestly, it's my fault for talking about my mental health because I kind of brought in the haters. So I've just got to get used to it,” Duran reportedly said postgame.
“The response is not representative of how we wish that would have played out but I think it’s impossible to project how any of us would respond in a similar situation. I think the important thing is Jarren knows that he has a network of support within the organization,” Breslow said.
Major League Baseball and the Minnesota Twins are now investigating the incident, according to the Associated Press.
A fan was removed following a taunting confrontation with Duran last April at Progressive Field in Cleveland.
“In terms of how those things are handled, in our park, there’s a long history of taking swift and decisive action that players feel safe. Minnesota worked with us and we’re appreciative of how they handled that situation as well,” Breslow said.
