TORONTO – Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Yunel Escobar faced the media Tuesday afternoon to answer questions about why he took the field in Saturday’s game against Boston with what has been called a homophobic slur written in Spanish under his eyes.
“It was not something I intended to be offensive,” Escobar said through a translator at the news conference at Yankee Stadium. “It’s something that’s been said amongst Latinos…it didn’t have the significance to the way that it’s being interpreted right now.”
Escobar has been suspended for three games beginning Tuesday night.
Several pictures posted online show Escobar with the message written in his eye-black, a type of sticker players wear under their eyes to reduce the sun’s glare.
The photos caused a Twitter storm by Monday afternoon, but some controversy remains around the translation of “TU ERE MARICON.”
In Latin American Spanish, this statement can be translated as “You are a faggot.”
Get breaking National news
Escobar is Cuban, and some fans have suggested he may not have realized the true meaning, or may have been under the impression that it was a derogatory term that was not as harshly homophobic as is being translated in media reports.
Twitter user @James_in_TO posted a photo of Escobar with the eye-black on Flickr, and offered the following comment, as reported by The Score:
“For those whose Spanish isn’t fluent, have never seen Scarface or fail at google, Yunel’s eyeblack “TU ERE MARICON” translates to “You’re a faggot.” There are some small Spanish locales where it translates to “pussy” not “faggot” but that’s a very small possibility.”
Though The Score blogger says he’s already received a tweet from @BanditDeW, who said:
“All the latin players I ever played with used that as a generic curse word. Not a slur directed at a specific class.”
University of Toronto Spanish professor Maria Cristina Cuervo told The Toronto Star that the term is derogatory, but not necessarily homophobic in Argentina, and that it could be likened to saying ‘you are like a girl’ or ‘you’re weak.’ But Cuba expert and University of Miami professor Michelle Gonzalez told the Star that in Escobar’s country, it’s considered a slur referring to homosexuals.
Former Blue Jays player Dirk Hayhurst writes that “crude, offensive humor is a part of the lexicon of the clubhouse” and that he doesn’t see it as “a malicious act on the part of Yunel” on his blog.
Both the team and Major League Baseball spoke with the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) about the incident prior to the press conference.
The salary lost by Escobar during his suspension will go to GLAAD and You Can Play, which is a social activism campaign launched by Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke, that aims to remove homophobia in sports.
Escobar will take part in an outreach initiative to help educate others about tolerance and sensitivity to the sexual orientation of others. He will also participate in a sensitivity training program in accordance with the Blue Jays and MLB.
Comments
Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.