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Toronto Blue Jays Shortstop Suspended For Sporting Homophobic Slur On Eye Blacks
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Sep 18, 2012
Modified Sep 19, 2012
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By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Sep 18, 2012
Modified Sep 19, 2012
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Going head to head with recent public intoxication arrestee Shaun White for dumbest jock move of the week, Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Yunel Escobar has been suspended for writing a homophobic slur on his eye blacks during a game this past weekend.
During the Blue Jays' Saturday night home game against the Boston Red Sox, Cuban native Escobar, 29, wore two eye blacks with the Spanish phrase "TU ERE MARICON" written in white, the English equivalent of which is "You are a f****t." A photo of the eyeblacks was posted online yesterday leading to an MLB investigation, and Escobar has since been suspended without pay from the team for its next three games; TMZ reports that a portion of his salary from the games will go to GLAAD.
"I'm sorry for my actions of the other day," Escobar, who says the slur was a joke, told reporters at Yankee Stadium today. "I don't have anything against homosexuals." And when asked if he had any gay friends, Escobar showed how truly progressive he is by trotting out the defense, "My decorator is gay, and my hairdresser is gay, and I have various friends who are gay, honestly they haven't been as offended".
Escobar's certainly not the first professional athlete who's been called out for homophobic slurs; just last year, NBA star Kobe Bryant was fined $100,000 for calling a referee "a f**king f****t."
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