Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran has been upfront about some troubles in his off-the-field life. In a Netflix documentary series that followed the Red Sox throughout their 2024 season, Duran opened up about the state of his mental health in the past, which included a suicide attempt.
Duran's candor and bravery were largely celebrated by fans, many of whom have been through similar trials in their own lives — the United States has a mental health crisis it loves to ignore by making light of invisible pain, and Duran helped so many people feel seen and understood.
But of course, as with all things, there are people who will use others' perceived "weakness" or past struggles to get under their skin. It happened again on April 14 at Target Field, and Duran directed his middle finger to the stands in a controversial response to the fan's actions.
“Somebody just told me to kill myself,” Duran said (via Christopher Smith of MassLive). “I’m used to it at this point. I mean, s--t 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.”
A similar exchange occurred between Duran and a fan who told him to "f---ing kill [himself]" while the Red Sox were playing the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field last April. The Guardians organization removed the fan from the game issued an apology for the infraction, but what they said can't be taken back.
Red Sox's Jarren Duran flips fan off after vile comment about his mental health
“Honestly, it’s my fault for talking about my mental health because I kind of brought in the haters,” Duran said. “So it’s something I’ve got to get used to.”
Duran shouldn't have to feel like there's a target on his back for sharing his life experience in hopes of inspiring others in his situation to get the help they need. Using someone's mental health, or other factors they can't control, as a means of harassment is the lowest of the low and it reflects deep insecurity back on the speaker. Truly, anyone who thinks telling someone to kill themself is okay, especially someone with established mental health troubles in their past, should seek help expeditiously.
At the same time, Duran keeps finding himself in these situations because he keeps giving bullies what they want: a reaction. It's wrong to hold Duran to a higher standard than other adult fans in the audience just because he's a "professional," as athletes are human beings, just like the rest of us. But fans only harass Duran with this information because it gets a rise out of him. Duran shouldn't have to sit back and take the abuse, but consequences for said actions can be distributed by others, like when security removed the cruel fan at Progressive Field just about a year ago.
MLB players do their jobs in front of hundreds of thousands of people in person and on television each night, and social media has emboldened people to say vile and heartless things to them. The age of legalized sports betting has unleashed a formerly unseen wave of cruelty on players and their families — in a poll from The Athletic, 78.2% of 133 MLB players polled said that legalized sports betting has changed how fans treat them or their teammates (subscription required). Players have received death threats for blowing bets they didn't know about for people they've never met and never will meet, all because they chose to spend their money irresponsibly.
Players, however famous they are perceived to be, are also people, and not fans' personal punching bag. Duran or anyone else should never be shamed for being open about issues that could affect every single one of us at any point, and maybe already have. While Duran's response could stand to be improved, the cruel fan's actions are worthy of consequences.
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