Additional Coverage:
- Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran flips off fan who allegedly told him to harm himself in loss to Twins (foxnews.com)
Red Sox Outfielder Jarren Duran Responds to Fan’s Hurtful Remark During Game
Trigger Warning: This story addresses suicide and mental health. If you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out to the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran found himself at the center of attention Tuesday night after a visibly upset reaction during the team’s 6-0 defeat to the Minnesota Twins. Following a fifth-inning groundout, Duran was caught on camera making an obscene gesture toward a fan in the stands. After the game, Duran revealed that the gesture was in response to a fan who directed a deeply hurtful comment at him, telling him to harm himself.
“I’m used to it at this point,” Duran said, explaining the incident. “Somebody just told me to kill myself.
I mean, s— happens. I’m gonna flip somebody off if they say something to me, but it is what it is.
I shouldn’t react like that, but that kind of stuff is still kind of triggering.”
At 29, Duran has been open about his mental health struggles. His story gained wider attention through the Netflix docuseries The Clubhouse: A Year With the Red Sox, which followed the team during the 2024 season. In the series, Duran shared a candid account of a particularly dark period in his life during the 2021 and 2022 seasons, culminating in a failed suicide attempt.
“To this day, I think God just didn’t let me take my own life because I seriously don’t know why [the gun] didn’t go off,” he revealed in the documentary. “I took it as a sign of, ‘I might have to be here for a reason,’ so that’s when I started to look at myself in the mirror after the gun didn’t go off.”
Duran acknowledged that his openness about mental health has unfortunately attracted some negative attention. “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,” he said. “I was just trying to hold it in and not really bring that up to the team.
I mean, we’re trying to win a game. I shouldn’t even bring that up to anybody. …
It just happens.”
Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora commented that he did not witness the incident on the field.
Duran’s story highlights the ongoing challenges athletes face when confronting mental health issues, as well as the importance of empathy and respect from fans.