Fan banned indefinitely from MLB ballparks after vulgar remarks on Ketel Marte’s mother 

The Chicago White Sox have indefinitely banned the fan who hurled profane remarks at Arizona Diamondbacks’ 2B Ketel Marte from all MLB ballparks. The MLB commended the White Sox for their swift action in removing the fan from the stadium.

The incident took place on Tuesday night during the seventh inning when a fan made a derogatory comment about Ketel Marte’s mother, Elpidia Valdez, who died in a car accident in 2017. The exact comment made by the fan was not revealed publicly.

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo and a team personnel member were seen yelling at the fan from the dugout. Lovullo even went on the field to console a sobbing Marte, who was left in tears following the incident.

According to the White Sox, the fan has appeared to be “very apologetic and remorseful” over his actions. Support for Marte poured in from all corners of the MLB world, and over $11,000 in donations were made to the Diamondbacks in the name of Marte’s mother.

The White Sox also showed their support by displaying a message for Marte at the stadium. Team manager Will Venable apologized for the incident as well:

"Really unfortunate incident. No players should ever have to be subjected to that kind of stuff from fans. I sent my apologies over to them last night, and I know a number of us have. [We] apologize again for what is not representative of how our fans behave, and just something that no players should be subjected to."

This is not the first time a fan has interrupted or made vulgar comments towards a player. Boston Red Sox’s Jarren Duran was also subjected to derogatory remarks by a fan during their visit to Cleveland in April.

The fan's comment came after the outfielder shared his story of attempting suicide three times in a documentary. That fan was also subsequently banned and ejected soon after the incident.

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Former teammate Josh Rojas supports Ketel Marte following incident

Josh Rojas and Ketel Marte [Source: Imagn]

Ketel Marte’s former teammate, and now-Chicago White Sox utility player, Josh Rojas, said via MLB.com that he has never seen anything happen like this before. He added that sometimes fans can get too into the sport and forget what to say and not to a player:

“I've never experienced anything like that. That's a tough situation. You feel for him. I think the biggest thing that comes to mind is I think fans kind of get caught up in the sport and forget that we're still human beings. “I think when something like that happens, it kind of opens people's eyes to remember these are real humans with real feelings and real stuff going on outside of the field," he added.

Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said that they’re grateful for the support the MLB world has shown after the incident. He added that Tuesday night “was not easy for him.” He also thanked the White Sox for being active and for their support.

Edited by Veer Badani