This past week, as the Boston Red Sox were playing the Guardians in Cleveland, Boston outfielder Jarren Duran got into a shouting match with a Cleveland fan. The incident hit at the heart of fan-athlete interaction. According to media personalities on the scene and eyewitnesses, the fan yelled to Duran that he should have killed himself when he had the chance. The backstory here is that on an episode of the Netflix docuseries The Clubhouse: A Year with the Red Sox, Duran revealed that he actually attempted suicide due to his 2021 and 2022 on-field struggles.
The Cleveland fan’s comments were met with universal media disdain. Will Middlebrooks, a Red Sox game and studio analyst for NESN, decried the remarks as “inexcusable.” I was watching the game live and when the commotion on the field commenced, Red Sox play-by-play announcer Dave O’Brien wondered what had transpired. It was NESN sideline reporter Jahmai Webster who offered a first-hand explanation.
Stationed adjacent to the Red Sox dugout, Webster reported that a fan seated in the front row bellowed something to Duran that, in Webster’s words, “crossed the line.” So, just what and where is that line between those who play the games and those who watch them play the games? And moreover, what role does multimedia play in creating or stretching this line?
Fans do pay exorbitant amounts of money to attend games, and there is an inherent right to heckle or chide opposing or hometown players. At some point, however, there is an invisible line that should not be crossed, and that is the problem — it truly is invisible. In the Duran situation, Webster’s live explanation was vague but did show the value of a good sideline reporter. In short, he heard and saw what the broadcasters in the booth could not hear and see.
Part of this issue is about the times in which we live. With the lightning-fast, widespread growth of social media, many fans and onlookers have imposed themselves on the world of sports media. In truth, they have developed an exaggerated view of themselves. In the long past, you needed a degree, experience, or at least an actual job to be considered a media personality. Now, all you need is a mobile device. Some of these newly minted social media stars are excellent, with as much entertainment value and talent as longtime media pros. What many of them have is exposure; what many of them lack is accountability.
The Duran incident hardly stands alone in the annals of fan-athlete confrontations. Sport is an extremely passionate and emotional endeavor for both fans and players. Visit YouTube and you’ll see this emotion. There was the Malice at the Palace in 2004, when a fan tossed a drink at Indiana’s Ron Artest, inciting a Pacers-Pistons brawl that migrated into the stands. Growing up in Boston, I vividly remember Fenway fans tossing batteries at Reggie Jackson in right field and Cedric Maxwell going into the stands at the Spectrum in Philadelphia responding to fan abuse in Game 6 of the 1981 Eastern Conference Finals. Perhaps the most brutal example occurred in 1979, when members of the Boston Bruins literally climbed over the glass and went into the stands to battle New York Ranger fans at Madison Square Garden. The violent altercation was highlighted — or lowlighted — by Boston’s Mike Milbury beating a fan with that fan’s own shoe.
This past Tuesday, it continued with Tyrese Haliburton’s father, John Haliburton, getting in Giannis Antetokounmpo’s face on the court after Indiana eliminated Milwaukee in the NBA Playoffs.
The old argument that fans pay their money and have a right to say whatever they want is matched by the similarly ancient belief that the media congratulates such behavior. Certainly, SportsCenter and other sports news and analysis shows discuss and run video of fan-athlete confrontations, but that’s part of the job. It’s news. Can such exposure egg on other fans to act out their own vitriol? Yes, but only if those other fans are morons.
The late artist Andy Warhol is credited with the quote, “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes,” and it was prophetic. We live a life on video. Cameras are everywhere. You can be a completely unknown person one day and be a “celebrity” on Dancing with the Stars the next. All it takes is the right clip, reel, or moment caught on video. It’s all about hits, views, and followers. This is not a lament — it’s a fact.
I don’t know Jarren Duran, but I do know that it took a lot of balls to open up on a national production and share the deeply personal struggles that he experienced a couple of years ago. Many athletes have done the same thing in recent years, including NBA stars Kevin Love and DeMar DeRozan. Others like Simone Biles, Michael Phelps, Tom Brady, Naomi Osaka, and Maxx Crosby have publicly discussed mental health and wellness on a number of platforms. Aaron Rodgers catches a lot of flak for his darkness retreats, meditation, and self-love practices, but the dude knows who he is and has shared his journey.
Duran himself has seen the other side of the fan-athlete saga played out in the media. Last season he came under fire for responding to a heckling fan with a homophobic slur. The response was actually picked up live by NESN’s audio. Duran was subsequently suspended for two games and issued an apology for his insensitive choice of words.
In the wake of the Cleveland incident, reaction was swift and direct. When Yankees star Cody Bellinger was asked about the fan in question, he responded, “Ban him. It’s definitely not cool. We’re good at what we do and we’re at the highest level, but we’re all human beings with emotions and feelings. It was hard to hear what that fan said to Duran.”
Newly hired NESN general sports reporter Alanna Rizzo, formerly of MLB Network’s High Heat with Christopher Russo and a fine commentator for Dodgers Territory, Foul Territory TV, and SportsNet, offered a direct lambasting of the Guardians’ fan. A.J. Pierzynski joined Rizzo on the Foul Territory TV discussion and criticized the fan while lauding Duran for sharing his dark times on Netflix. Pierzynski’s words carry weight because both as a player and a media personality on FOX and other outlets, he is the complete opposite of a prude. For this outspoken dude to find something offensive carries a lot of weight.
The media often uses social issues to mount their high horses, seeking some holier-than-thou high moral ground. In the case of what happened in Cleveland, however, the response is justified. At one time or another, we all offer critical words toward athletes, whether in person or via social media, but most of us maintain a healthy distance from the edge. That line that fans should not approach remains invisible — but when it is crossed, the ignorance is in full view.
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John Molori is a weekly columnist for Barrett Sports Media. He has previously contributed to ESPNW, Patriots Football Weekly, Golf Content Network, Methuen Life Magazine, and wrote a syndicated Media Blitz column in the New England region, which was published by numerous outlets including The Boston Metro, Providence Journal, Lowell Sun, and the Eagle-Tribune. His career also includes fourteen years in television as a News and Sports Reporter, Host, Producer working for Continental Cablevision, MediaOne, and AT&T. He can be reached on Twitter @MoloriMedia.
