Kevin Pillar Suspended By Blue Jays For Anti-Gay Slur
Image by Getty Images
(JTA) — The Toronto Blue Jays suspended their center fielder Kevin Pillar for two games after he hurled an anti-gay slur at an opposing pitcher.
Pillar used the slur against Jason Motte of the Atlanta Braves during a game Wednesday night when he thought the pitcher tried to “quickpitch” him — throw a pitch before he was ready to hit in the batter’s box.
The Jewish player was quick to apologize for the incident.
“I was ashamed. I regret saying it,” he told reporters before another game against the Braves on Thursday. “I’m going to be used as an example of how words can really offend a lot of people.”
Pillar, known as one of the top defensive outfielders in the major leagues, will be able to return on Saturday, when the Blue Jays play the Baltimore Orioles. He will also be fined an undisclosed amount.
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
