On Monday, Mayor Michelle Wu requested to meet with the Red Sox after Jarren Duran was caught using a homophobic slur on camera and subsequently suspended for two games. The reaction was predictably swift: The mayor had gone too far, and in so doing had only stoked the outrage provoked by Duran’s outburst. How could she?!
Were these complaints fair? Maybe. I don’t see much value to the mayor getting involved, but I also don’t see much of a downside. It’s just a thing a mayor does, whereas Duran’s lapse of judgment is something that ballplayers largely have — to their credit — avoided in the “everyone is watching” era.