Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show Jarren Duran Of Red Sox Getting Standing Ovation in August 2024 After Suspension For Homophobic Slur Toward Fan -- Crowd Footage Is From 2023
Does a video on social media show Boston Red Sox player Jarren Duran receiving a standing ovation upon returning from suspension for calling a fan a homophobic slur? No, that's not true: The video uses old footage from a 2023 game at Fenway Park and does not show the game on August 14, 2024. Local sports reporters and the Boston Globe reported he was cheered when he was at bat but did not report that he received a standing ovation, which would have been news had it happened.
The claim appeared in a video in a post (archived here) on X, formerly known as Twitter, on August 15, 2024. It said:
Red Sox outfielder, Jarren Duran sets an MLB record for jersey sales in a day following his suspension for using homophobic slurs
Duran is now first in jersey sales over Ohtani
He received a standing ovation from Red Sox fans during his first at bat back from suspension
This is what the post looked like on X at the time of writing:
(Source: X screenshot taken on Thu Aug 15 15:27:41 2024 UTC)
Duran was suspended for two games after calling a fan a "f***ing f****t" following Duran being heckled by fans during a game against the Houston Astros, the HufPost reported (archived here). The suspension began on August 12, 2024, and he returned to play on August 14 against the Texas Rangers.
The 15-second video has several clips from old footage of the crowd at a Boston Red Sox game. As the video opens there is a man standing and applauding wearing a gray tank top and a black hat with the B logo and then it cuts to a group of fans including a man in a dark red shirt wearing a black hat with a red and white B logo. These screenshots below show the two images:
(Source: X screenshot taken on Thu Aug 15 15:30:12 2024 UTC)
(Source: X screenshot taken on Thu Aug 15 15:34:43 2024 UTC)
This footage matches video posted on YouTube (archived here) from the August 13, 2023, Boston Red Sox games where the audience was cheering for Detroit Tigers legend Miguel Cabrera's final game at Fenway Park.
Lead Stories could not identify the two final clips in the video, but the crowd shots shows people in long sleeves and jackets, which they would not have been wearing during the mid-August game.
A Boston Globe article (archived here) on August 14, 2024, described Duran's return to the plate after his suspension:
Jarren Duran did not receive an ovation when he stepped to the plate in the first inning at Fenway Park on Wednesday night, just the usual cheering you'd expect for a star player.
Boston Herald reporter Mac Cerullo wrote on his X account (archived here): "Jarren Duran received a louder than usual cheer when his name was introduced in the pregame lineups, and he gets another hand as he steps to the plate for the first time since being suspended." Writer David Hendrickson disagreed with Cerullo, writing on his X account (archived here):
I'm at the game and will disagree about when he stepped to the plate. Nothing extra there at all.
I'm at the game and will disagree about when he stepped to the plate. Nothing extra there at all.
MLB.com reporter Ian Brown described Duran's at bat on his X account (archived here): "Jarren Duran gets a polite applause as he digs in for his first at-bat. No boos could be heard."
Jarren Duran gets a polite applause as he digs in for his first at-bat. No boos could be heard.
Duran apologized for his homophobic remarks during a press conference on August 12, 204, as the Washington Post reported (archived here). This was before he returned to play on August 14, 2024:
"There was no intent behind the word that was used," said Duran, who told reporters he has not used it before. "It was just the heat of the moment. It just happened to be said. It's on me for that word coming out."
Other Lead Stories fact checks about sports can be found here.
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