Jarren Duran flips off fan: Red Sox star explains what made him react with middle finger gesture

Jarren Duran flips off fan: Red Sox star explains what made him react with middle finger gesture originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Editor's Note: The following story deals with suicide and may be triggering for some readers.

It's been a difficult start to the year for the Boston Red Sox, who were shut out by the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night, but OF Jarren Duran's decision to flip off a fan went beyond just the frustration of losing.

Duran defended himself after cameras caught him sticking up his middle finger at a Twins fan, saying the fan crossed a line with their heckling in the Red Sox' 4-0 loss.

Duran went 0-for-4 in the loss, with the Red Sox dropping to an AL-worst 6-11 a day after allowing 13 runs at Target Field.

Here's what Duran had to say about the gesture on Tuesday.

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Jarren Duran flips off fan

Duran said he flipped off a fan at Target Field after he was told to kill himself.

"Somebody just told me to kill myself," Duran told reporters. "I'm used to it at this point, you know? I mean, s— happens. I mean, I'm gonna flip somebody off if they say something to me, but it is what it is. I shouldn't react like that, but that kind of stuff is still kind of triggering."

Duran has been open about his struggle with mental health and revealed in 2025 that he once attempted suicide. On Tuesday, he said he regretted sharing so many details about his struggles.

"Honestly, it's my fault for talking about my mental health because I kind of brought in the haters. So I've just got to get used to it," Duran said, adding, "I shouldn't even bring that up to anybody."

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said he didn't see the gesture, nor had he seen video of it, so he didn't comment on the matter.

Duran has had a rocky relationship with fans in the past, as a microphone picked up on him calling a heckler a homophobic slur in 2024. The Red Sox suspended Duran two games for the incident, and he apologized for what he called a "truly horrific" word.

Jarren Duran mental health, explained

Duran said in a 2025 Netflix series chronicling the Red Sox that he battled severe mental health issues early in his MLB career and at one point attempted suicide.

"I got to a point where I was sitting in my room, I had my rifle and I had a bullet and I pulled the trigger and the gun clicked, but nothing happened," Duran said. "So, to this day, I think God just didn't let me take my own life because I seriously don't know why it didn't go off."

Duran, who was called-up as a top prospect in 2021 but struggled early in his career, said he was internalizing what he was hearing from fans. "What they said to me, [it was like], 'I've told myself 10 times worse in the mirror,'" he said.

Duran said he realized after his attempted suicide attempt that he had a reason to still be alive and started on the road to recovery.

MORE:Jarren Duran explains his mental health struggles