Red Sox's Jarren Duran Responds to Fan's Disturbing Comment with Gesture: 'Still Kind of Triggering'

During a recent game against the Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran reacted to a fan's offensive comment by flipping him off as he returned to the dugout.

“Somebody just told me to kill myself,” Duran, 29, recounted to reporters post-game. “I’m used to it at this point, you know? I mean, s*** happens. I mean, I’m going to 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.”

The incident unfolded in the fifth inning of the Red Sox's loss in Minneapolis. Duran has been candid about his mental health struggles, including a suicide attempt in 2022, which he discussed in Netflix’s docuseries, The Clubhouse: A Year with the Red Sox.

In previous statements, Duran expressed his desire to raise awareness about mental health issues and encourage others to seek help. “Honestly, it’s my fault for talking about my mental health because I kind of brought in the haters,” he reflected on Tuesday. “So I’ve just got to get used to it.”

He added, “I didn’t really tell anybody, so that’s on me. Just trying to hold it in, 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’s not really something where I want to be like, ‘Bro, you should have heard what this guy said to me.’ That’s not the most important thing. The most important thing is winning the game, and it just happens.”

Red Sox manager Alex Cora, who has been a strong supporter of Duran throughout his mental health journey, stated he did not witness the gesture at the time it occurred.

When Duran first shared his story, Cora praised him for his transparency. “We’re very proud of him,” Cora remarked last April. “He’s saving lives, that’s what he’s doing. For a guy that wears his emotions on his sleeves, I think we should applaud him.”

As the documentary gained attention, Duran also discussed his ongoing efforts to manage mental health challenges. “I’ve definitely reached out a lot more than I used to, and that’s a big thing for me,” he noted. “And even when I tell myself, ‘I’m not going to bother someone with this,’ I go back to like stuff that I journaled before that told me like, ‘Hey, if you ever get into this headspace again, make sure you reach out.’ So I just kind of remind myself that it’s important to reach out and just knowing that other people are doing that because I talk about it, it’s really heartwarming. And I hope that I can help spread the love that people need to support each other.”