Jays Shortstop Yunel Escobar Suspended for Gay Slur

The Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Yunel Escobar was suspended on Tuesday when he wrote a gay slur in Spanish on the eyeblack tape that he was wearing. Escobar is often known for writing messages—often inspirational ones—on his eyeblack tape. The incident occurred during the game on Saturday, with photos of the slur circulating on the internet on Monday.

Escobar was suspended for three days and will be required to attend sensitivity training. What exactly is this sensitivity training, and does it really help those who have a problem with sexual orientation or race, or whichever, become more tolerant? Escobar will lose more than $80,000 from the three days that he is suspended, which will be donated to the You Can Play project, a program that ensures equality regardless of sexual orientation.

Yunel Escobar apologized for the slur, saying that it actually meant something different in the Latino culture. This isn't likely, since it was those from the Latino parts of the world that saw the slur on the internet and were upset by it, but the team managers warned players to be more careful and more respectful.

This is obviously a case of locker room talk escaping from the locker room and on the field, but it is also a mark of how far the world has come. Twenty years ago, people may not even have complained about something like this, but it is good that issues such as this are making it into the public eye and receiving the proper treatment.

Photo by Gaytisports on Flickr.

Gabriel Legend covers a wide range of breaking news for Gather. He writes fiction as well, with his first novel coming out in 2013. You can follow on Twitter at @GabrielLegend1 or contact him directly here.

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