Tue. September 18, 2012
Toronto, Canada -
The Toronto Blue Jays and Major League Baseball are investigating a homophobic slur on shortstop Yunel Escobar eye-black.
The 29-year-old Cuban-born shortstop wore eye-black during Saturday's game against the Boston Red Sox that read, ""TU ERE MARICON," which can be translated as "You are a fa--ot."
The message, which did not appear to be directed at anyone in particular, went unnoticed until a photograph by season-ticket holder James Greenhalgh was posted on Flickr and circulated online Monday afternoon. Escobar was trending on Twitter by early Monday evening.
Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos has scheduled a media conference for Tuesday afternoon to address the issue.
A statement from the team read, "The Toronto Blue Jays do not support discrimination of any kind nor condone the message displayed by Yunel Escobar during Saturday's game. The club takes this situation seriously and is investigating the matter."
Escobar could face disciplinary action.
Despite some inroads, the acceptance of gays and lesbians continues to be an issue in professional sports.
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