Red Sox of the Week: Jarren Duran

A few days ago, Netflix released The Clubhouse: A Year with the Red Sox and Episode 4 features Jarren Duran addressing his suicide attempt in 2022. It's obviously incredibly brave to talk about something so personal, and I'm glad that he's mostly on the other side of it now.

I have made fun of Jarren Duran. I never sent him a DM (who does that?) and I don't think I ever boo'ed him, as I don't think I've ever boo'ed any player on my team regardless of the circumstances, but I was equally disparaging on the Bleacher Brawls podcast, which I co-hosted during Duran's down years. I felt bad immediately and, I don't want to start making this about me, it made me think about the way we treat athletes.

They're people too. They're people when they're hitting .200 and when they lose a ball in the lights and when they get thrown out trying to stretch a double into a triple. Sports Twitter and podcast culture makes it really easy to forget that.

I'm sorry, Jarren. Thank you for pushing us all to be better and for telling your story. Alex Cora said, “It takes a person with courage and being transparent and genuine to do that. I hope that’s how we see it, right? He will impact others, and he’s going to save lives with what he did on Netflix.”

I agree.

Last weekend, we traveled to Cleveland to visit friends, see the Sox play, and get the Progressive Field stamp in our MLB Passport. During the 7th-inning stretch, I noticed Duran yapping at what looked to be somebody...in the crowd? Now, we had heard plenty of low-lifes yelling "Tennis racket! Tennis racket!" during both games we saw, and I'm sure Duran will hear that one for years to come, but we knew right away that it must've been something different.

Now, I'm not going to repeat what that piece of shit said (you can easily find it online if you'd like) and I don't really have anything insightful to say except...like...that guy sucks. Don't be like that guy. Be like Jarren Duran.