Boston Red Sox first baseman Wilson Contreras (center) is restrained by players during a confrontation with Washington Nationals pitcher Cade Cavalli in the fourth inning at Fenway Park on June 30. [Getty Images]
Boston Red Sox first baseman Wilson Contreras (center) is restrained by players during a confrontation with Washington Nationals pitcher Cade Cavalli in the fourth inning at Fenway Park on June 30. [Getty Images]

As a group of high school baseball players in Korea faced six-month suspensions for chanting discriminatory slogans at a rival team, Major League Baseball handed down a wave of suspensions after a racially charged remark triggered a bench-clearing brawl.

The MLB Commissioner's Office announced Thursday, according to the Associated Press and other outlets, that Washington Nationals pitcher Cade Cavalli and Boston Red Sox first baseman Wilson Contreras had each been suspended seven games in connection with a fight that broke out during their matchup.

Washington pitcher Miles Mikolas received a five-game suspension, while Boston outfielder Nate Eaton was handed a three-game ban. All four players were also fined undisclosed amounts. The suspensions take effect Friday unless the players appeal.

The incident stemmed from a single remark by Cavalli.

After striking out Contreras in the fourth inning, Cavalli shouted at him as he walked back to the dugout: "Sit down, boy."

The two players exchanged words, and both benches quickly emptied onto the field. An enraged Contreras charged toward the mound and hurled his helmet in Cavalli's direction.

Contreras, Mikolas and Eaton were ejected on the spot, but Cavalli — whose remark had set off the confrontation — was not.

The incident drew widespread attention because of the historical weight the word "boy" carries in American society. In a country where deep-seated racial tensions between Black and white Americans persist to this day, the term is widely regarded as a derogatory slur used by white people against Black people.

The US Supreme Court ruled in 2006 that use of the word "boy" in the workplace could constitute evidence of racial discrimination and harassment.

Cavalli is Italian-American; Contreras is from Venezuela.

Before the suspensions were announced, Cavalli apologized, saying he was "heartbroken" that his words had been taken out of context and that he had "zero malicious intent." He added that he was pained by the thought that "a 13-year-old Black kid in Washington, D.C., who looks up to me might see this situation in a way that was not my intent and may no longer look up to me."

Meanwhile, players from Baejae High School's baseball team were notified Sunday of six-month suspensions by the Korea Baseball Softball Association's Sports Fair Committee after they chanted "Let's go to Starbucks" and "Tank Day" at players from Gwangju Ilgo during a national high school baseball tournament.

Starbucks Korea had drawn public backlash after running a tumbler discount promotion around the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement anniversary using the slogans "Tank Day" and "A thud on the desk" — phrases associated with the torture and suppression of pro-democracy activists. The Baejae High School players' use of those slogans as cheers was deemed a violation.


betterj@heraldcorp.com