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Blue Jays shortstop suspended after homophobic slur on eye black
Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Yunel Escobar has been suspended for three games after a photo emerged from Saturday's game showing him with a Spanish homophobic slur in his eye black, the substance ballplayers put below their eyes to reduce the sun's glare.
Escobar acknowledged being the author of the message, but was reticent about the underlying meaning of the words.
"It was not something I intended to be offensive," Escobar said through a translator. "It's something I just put on the sticker on my face."
The team said it met with Escobar, Major League Baseball officials and the MLB Players Association and decided the shortstop will be suspended without pay. The salary he forfeits will be donated to the groups You Can Play and the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD.)
"The Blue Jays want to reaffirm that discrimination of any kind will not be tolerated," the team said in a statement announcing the suspension.
Escobar said his actions were not intentional or directed at anyone in particular and he wanted to apologize to anyone he offended.
"I don’t have anything against homosexuals," Escobar said. "I have friends who are gay. I'd like to ask for the apology of all those who have been offended by this."
Maria Cristina Cuervo, a Spanish professor at the University of Toronto, told Toronto Star columnist Cathal Kelly on Tuesday that the word "is derogatory, but it’s not necessarily homophobic," and in some Spanish-speaking countries such as Argentina, it is more of a teasing insult.
Escobar did not say specifically what he thought the words on his eye black meant, but added the phrase was something that's "been said amongst Latinos."
"It's not something meant to be offensive," he said. "For us, it didn't have the significance to the way it's being interpreted right now. It's a word used often with teens."
When pressed further by reporters, Escobar said that the words he wrote have different meanings depending on how you say it and who you say it to. Reporters then asked what he specifically meant.
"I didn't mean to say anything with it," he said.
Escobar added he has several gay friends, including the person who decorates his house and who cuts his hair. He said those people told him they were not as offended as the larger community.
"There's a different understanding in the Latin community" about the word, he said.
Though Escobar displayed the words on his eye black during Saturday's game in Toronto against the Boston Red Sox, the incident did not gain attention until Monday when a photo of Escobar was posted on Flickr by a Blue Jays fan, identified by the Toronto Star as James Greenhalgh, a season-ticket holder who sits behind the Blue Jays dugout in Rogers Centre.
In addition to the suspension for three games and handing over his salary for that span, Escobar will also take part in an outreach initiative to help educate society about sensitivity and tolerance to others based on their sexual orientation.
Manager John Farrell said he does not think there is a problem in Major League Baseball with homophobia. Farrell also said that nobody questioned any writing on Escobar's eye black because he has done it before.
"Because it's frequently done, nobody paid attention to it," Farrell said.
Escobar said he had no problem with the suspension that was handed down.
"I feel bad," he said. "I'm embarrassed."
MLB commissioner Selig said in a press release he supported the Blue Jays' decision to suspend Escobar.
"I consistently say that Baseball is a social institution with important social responsibilities and that I expect those who represent Major League Baseball to act with the kind of respect and sensitivity that the game’s diverse fan base deserves," Selig said in a statement. "Mr. Escobar has admitted that his actions were a mistake and I am hopeful he can use this unfortunate situation as an opportunity to educate himself and others that intolerance has no place in our game or society."
The league added a non-discrimination based on sexual orientation clause to the collective bargaining agreement it signed with the players' union in November.
Last year, Atlanta Braves pitching coach Roger McDowell was suspended for two weeks without pay after he was accused of making vulgar, homophobic and threatening comments at a Giants-Braves game on April 23 in San Francisco. McDowell also was fined and told to go through sensitivity training.
"Major League Baseball is a social institution that brings people together and welcomes all individuals of different races, religions, genders, national origins and sexual orientations into its ballparks. Conduct by people associated with MLB that shows insensitivity to others simply cannot and will not be tolerated," Commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement after the McDowell incident.
Escobar, 29, is from Havana, Cuba. He is a veteran of seven major league seasons, both with the Blue Jays and Atlanta Braves.
He did not play in Sunday's game in Toronto after suffering "flu-like symptoms," according to the Star report. The Blue Jays did not have a game on Monday.
The Blue Jays return to Toronto for a home game on September 27.
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The only thing that would suck about being famous is that you can't say ANYTHING. The rest of us can go on the internet and be as offensive as we like, and hide behind names like bombo.
Lol.
Ha. Did you write that yourself or hire a professional? Now, go strut like the big boy that you are.
Wow. Mods at high speed today.
I thought your comment was funny, so I said so. What is the matter with you, didn't get a hug from mommy? FO.
Dang, Bombo, at ease!
We have mods here??
Ha ha Bombo.... That's a sneaky Polish word for Africans.
Famous people can go on the internet anonymously, too
That was in response to a comment that has been deleted. That's why I followed it right away with the high speed mod comment. It looked like they were deleting it at the same time as I was posting my response.
Like you forcing your religion right now? Be quiet. You'd be having kittens if he had written GOD SUX there.
The funny thing is that you GET to say that, and it isn't considered hatred...
Actually, the sad thing is that nothing would have happened if he had written God sucks. Show how sad our country has truly become!!!!!
Funny thing is that if he had written "God Sux" there is a chance not much would have happened since he plays for TORONTO in CANADA and they are not nearly as beholden to the religious fundamentalists as we are in the U.S.
That's because saying god sucks is the same as saying the tooth fairy sucks. An insult to an imaginary figure isn't really an insult is it?
Nice reply Tad!!! So true!
No, actually if he had put GOD SUX, he would have been offered a high profile job in the Obama administration.
I thought someone would fail to see the sarcasm and take you seriously within 2 minutes. I was right.
I really dont get whats so bad all it says is "you are gay" the only way u can be offended by this is if in fact your are gay and you didnt want noone else to know but then again if u dont want anyone to know keep your mouth shut.
He knew what he was writing and the connotation he intended. Hope he's really proud of himself.
Get over it sally, why take offense to writen words unreal, get your mangina out of a bunch and move on.
@stupid is as stupid does
Apt name.
However.. I challenge you to walk around in public with the Fvck dem “n” word, spelled correctly and in bold. No one should bother you right?
Well, this certainly gives the sport of baseball a black eye.
I see what you did there
Wait until the Queen hears aboot this, eh.
Oh brother,. . . .what next?
You gotta make the money first, Escobar. Then when you get the money, you get the power. Then, when you get the power...
Gosh all this hullabaloo over nothing!
Who cares what message he has on his face? No one! Except of course the 'funny people" LOL
Obviously MLB cares, the Blue Jays care, Fans care. Its not just the "funny people" you dumb c...unt.
i agree anna, it is words nothing more nothing less, just like the old saying sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt. why be offended by a word, peole man thats gay, you also know the definition of gay means happy. He was just stating that you are happy
Actually the TEAM and the LEAGUE do. He has a Contract, and that was a violation of it. Pretty basic and simple stuff here.
what would jesse do? and yes, I mean jesse (hes a good friend of mine) not Jesus – because we all know there aint no such thing as fairy tales
a fool says in his heart –no GOD
Whatever his purpose was, he sure succeeded in getting his name out there...I have never heard of him before today.
this camera guy from Canada can read and is fluent in the Spanish language ???? i am Mexican and i don't know every bad word in my language...
Is it really that hard to google the phrase after the fact? Just cuz you are a mexicant and dont understand the language fully doesn't mean a white canadian doesn't either.
Is this guy really bragging for being partially illiterate?
Escobar is too stupid and/or bigoted to stay on the team. The Blue Jays either need to suspend or fire him.
Do you write it on your face, ted? If you do, you will deserve whatever comes your way.
If I wrote the any slur on my face and walked into work…yes I’d be fired ted. To say nothing of going on national TV in uniform. Then again I’m not working under the table at my brother-in-laws shop.
Greenhalgh calls Escobar's actions "very disappointing," adding that ho mo pho bic slurs "are not acceptable insults in 2012.". Hmm... What are the acceptable insults in 2012? When everything's a crime, everyone's a criminal. When will we stop demonizing every stupid thing someone says?
Wow, had to post several times before I realized the word that got me from getting on was one included in the article. Amazing. That's Censored News Network for you. They can say it, but we can't.
Um...when stupid people stop saying them?