Blue Jays’ Kevin Pillar suspended two games by the club

Kevin Pillar was in some hot water after last night’s 7th inning incident against the Atlanta Braves. The Toronto Blue Jays have since suspended him for two games.

The Toronto Blue Jays have suspended Kevin Pillar for two games after he uttered a homophobic slur towards Atlanta Braves reliever Jason Motte.

The incident occurred when Pillar appeared to be frustrated at Motte for quick-pitching him to get the strikeout to end the 7th inning. If you’ve seen the replays, it’s noticeable that Pillar used the slur when he yelled at Motte.

Benches cleared twice last night with a brawl almost in hand.

Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins flew to Atlanta earlier today to address the issue and talk to Pillar about the incident. Toronto handed the suspension after discussions with the league and the player’s association.

According to Atkins, Pillar will forfeit his salary and it will be donated as details have yet to be confirmed. Pillar tweeted an apology for using the slur. He also apologized to Motte and the Braves organization.

From the team statement released this afternoon, the Blue Jays are “extremely disappointed” by the 28-year old’s remarks as the incident has blown up across social media and MLB.

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Blue Jays fans can go back to September 2012 when Yunel Escobar was suspended for having slurs written on his black stickers in a game against the Boston Red Sox.

In the meantime, the suspension to Pillar removes him off the roster to make room for Dwight Smith Jr.

Smith Jr. is hitting .297/.350/.422/.722 with Triple-AAA Buffalo with three home runs, 17 RBI, and three stolen bases.

Even though Pillar apologized, the use of the word is unacceptable and should not be used no matter the situation. Pillar has deep regrets of using the word, as he did take full responsibility for using it and he further explained that the word has no place in sports or in the game of baseball. That is great to see and will go a long way toward moving past the incident.

The suspension is time for everyone to move on from the situation, and hopefully things will calm down, especially after the series concludes with the Braves tonight.

Next: Blue Jays: Even Bautista knows it was too much