Dear fellow sports fans,
We love our favorite sports and players! We live and die by every play and are vocal in both our support for positive results and we are equally vocal in delivering an equal amount of disdain for sloppy, lackluster or uninspired play.
Booing, jeering and other forms of disappointment are common, normal and somewhat expected at sporting events. It’s part of being a fan and is sewn into the fabric of sports fandom. Players, both home and visitor, coaches and officials are all targets of our vocal displeasure and generally accept the verbal tirade of paying patrons with a shrug as long is it doesn’t cross the line.
When the line of acceptable behavior and decorum is crossed it usually takes the form of prohibited physical interaction whether in person or use of a foreign object with a player, coach or official. One of the most recent egregious examples of this type of activity is the 2024 World Series where Mookie Betts in game four had a pair of Yankee fans interfere with a catch attempt by Betts. One fan grabbed his glove and hand and simultaneously ripping the ball out of the glove, while the other fan grabbed and held his other arm. The fans were dealt with by the Yankees and MLB. Sunday…..the line was REALLY CROSSED!
Now we’ve entered a new frontier of fan behavior as evidenced by Sunday’s episode in Cleveland. What happened to Jarren Duran on Sunday is inexcusable by any form of measurement. A fan openly yelled , “Go f---ing kill yourself,” to Duran after he was retired on a fly ball.
If you are unaware as to the genesis of such a reprehensible remark, it references the disclosure of Duran admitting to a suicide attempt in the Netflix documentary “The Clubhouse: A Year with the Red Sox” which chronicles the 2024 Red Sox Season. The revelation in Episode 4 has been met with widespread support for Duran by players, fans and mental health care professionals for its openness and candor.
The event was caught on camera and there was some sound recorded according to sources. NESN field reporter Jamai Webster heard it and was quick to point out the egregious nature of the vile comment. To Duran’s credit, he did not get into a physical altercation with the fan in question, rather he got into a rather hot verbal exchange with the fan. Umpires, two coaches and teammate Cedanne Rafaela helped restrain Duran.
The fan was ultimately escorted out of the stadium. Fans in his section were shown to get in this person’s grill and voice their displeasure over such moronic behavior and they are to be applauded for trying to shut this behavior down immediately!
Duran opening up about his battle with depression and his mental health experiences has been met with universal appreciation. After the episode aired, it was noted that there was a significant rise in calls to the Samaritans, a non-profit that provides a suicide hotline in the Greater Boston area.
Further, in an interview with the Atlantic earlier in April, “The whole purpose of me sharing it is just to kind of get it out there and let people know that they’re not alone, even if I can just help one person, it’s meaningful. I’m just trying to let people know that there’s always help and to make sure that they’re reaching out.”
It took a lot for Duran to open up about his struggles with mental health. He should be applauded for his candor. He has become a champion for mental health awareness. Yet, this revelation has sadly brought out the worst in human nature by the actions of this fan in Cleveland. This is the reality of an increasingly fragmented, intolerant and self-absorbed minority who either have no filter or feel empowered to speak whatever comes to mind no matter how reprehensible their comments are. Such is the world in 2025.
Players are people first and athletes second. They face the same struggles we all experience. As a society we have lost touch with this reality. We have placed athletes on a pedestal and have forgotten they are human. Athletes in 2025 live in a fishbowl. A 24-hour news cycle, an ever-present variety of social media outlets and the unquenchable desire by fans to know everything about a player has resulted in a rapidly diminishing level of privacy for every player of every sport. Athletes are the main attraction in the Aquarium of Life!
My fellow sports fans, we can stop this growing insensitivity to privacy and the humane treatment of others:
1. My dad used to say, “Think before engaging mouth into gear!” Sound advice!
2. Just because you can say something… doesn’t mean you should!
3. Don’t be afraid to call someone out if they exhibit the kind of behavior we witnessed in Cleveland!
4. Respect everyone as a person, whether they are an athlete or other publicly know individual!
5. Live the golden rule all day, every day!
My friends we are both the problem and the solution. It’s time to take a step back and rethink our approach to fandom. Mental Health is the key to everyone’s wellbeing. We can show our disapproval at sporting events without being cruel. It is up to all of us to ensure that an episode like the one that happened on Sunday NEVER, EVER occurs again!
It’s time to be a responsible fan! We owe it to ourselves and more importantly we owe it to the sports we love to support!
Sincerely,
George “The OG” Sutherland
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