Jarren Duran yelling at a Guardians fan who referenced his 2022 suicide attempt from the stands Jarren Duran yells at a Guardians’ fan who reportedly referenced his 2022 suicide attempt. (NESN.)
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Red Sox star outfielder Jarren Duran starred in Sunday’s win over the Cleveland Guardians, recording four hits en route to a 13-3 win. But unfortunately, Duran’s on-field performance was largely overshadowed by an ugly interaction with a fan in attendance, who quickly became public enemy number one in the eyes of Red Sox color analyst Will Middlebrooks.

As the Red Sox came out to the field for the bottom of the seventh inning, Duran was seen yelling at a fan in attendance. At first, the context of the situation was unclear. But just before the bottom half of the inning got underway, NESN sideline reporter Jahmei Webster provided some insight into the matter.

“Jarren Duran was down on the field, fairly close to the stands,” said Red Sox play-by-play broadcaster Dave O’Brien as a replay of the interaction was shown on the NESN broadcast. “And a fan came down, must have been yelling something at Jarren. Some of the coaches and umpires were involved. Eventually, we saw this guy leave through the stands and up to the concourse. Jahmei, you are downstairs.”

“Yeah, OB, there was a fan sitting here in the front row,” added Webster. “He said something that crossed the line after Jarren had flied out to left field. And he stayed up here at the top of the dugout, kinda staring the guy down. Then, when the inning ended, he walked over there to share his words with the umpire. He said he would take care of it. So that’s what happened.”

O’Brien and Middlebrooks would further allude to whatever the fan said to Duran as “really bad”. But the specifics of what the fan said weren’t revealed on the NESN broadcast.

We did get an update on that front from Middlebrooks on social media after the game. In a post, Middlebrooks detailed how people down on the field level from the Red Sox broadcast team heard the fan tell Duran that he “should’ve killed himself when he had the chance”, alluding to his attempted suicide in 2022.

“Absolutely unacceptable behavior from the fan,” wrote Middlebrooks. “Told him he should have killed himself when he had the chance. Disgusting.”

Jahmei Webster further confirmed what the fan had said in his own post on social media after the game.

Obviously, the fan in question should be ashamed of himself for going this low towards any player. But to do so to Jarren Duran in particular is obviously even more damaging considering his past.

Duran has been incredibly candid about his battles with mental health throughout the course of his career. Especially so on the recently released Netflix docuseries about the 2024 Red Sox season, The Clubhouse: A Year with the Red Sox, where he was incredibly vulnerable and open about his attempted suicide in 2022.

As you may expect, the Cleveland Guardians organization issued a statement on the matter to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, echoing Middlebrooks’ sentiments in condemning the fan.

“We are aware of the situation that took place during today’s game between a fan and one of the Red Sox players that violated our fan conduct policy. We recognize the gravity of the behavior at issue here and take very seriously the conduct of this nature. We apologize to the Red Sox organization, the player involved, fans in the area, and are addressing the situation. We have identified the fan in question and will work with Major League Baseball regarding next steps. We strive to provide the best experience to visiting players and fans, and that fell short today.”

About Reice Shipley

Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.

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