Blue Jays suspend Kevin Pillar 2 games for homophobic slur

Blue Jays outfielder Kevin Pillar has been suspended two games by his team for using a homophobic slur against the Braves’ Jason Motte on Wednesday, according to Shi Davidi. Motte had thrown a quick pitch against Pillar, and in his frustration, the outfielder reacted in a way that no one should.

Pillar apologized for the slur, and as far as these kinds of apologies go, it’s a good one that actually seems sincere — no mentions of “Sorry if I offended you” or anything like that, a tactic that shifts the blame away from the responsible party.

It should be pointed out, however, that “This is not who I am” should be translated to something more like “This is not who I see myself as.” Pillar used a slur to run down Motte, and if the word is locked and loaded like that for use in a heated moment, it’s likely one he’s used times before.

Again, though, this apology seems sincere, and the fact Pillar says he’ll use this moment to better himself is what matters. It might be who Pillar is now, but if he works on making sure that’s not who he is anymore, that’s all to the good.

Get those homophobic slurs out of your lexicon, Kevin. Just call Motte a jerk or something next time. Or use a different f-word that isn’t marginalizing an entire group of people. Motte will be angry with you all the same, and you won’t even get suspended for it next time.

It remains to be seen if MLB is going to punish Pillar on top of this, or if they’re going to allow the Jays to handle this internally. The fact Pillar seems repentant probably helps his case either way.