Gurriel’s suspension for racist gesture set for 2018. Why fans think that’s too late
A day after making a gesture that was considered racist toward opposing pitcher Yu Darvish, Houston Astros infielder Yuli Gurriel has been issued a five-game suspension, Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred announced Saturday afternoon.
But it’s not for the rest of this year’s World Series, in which the Astros led the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1 entering Game 4. It’s set for the first five games of 2018.
Many fans showed outrage on social media Friday night as images immediately surfaced of Gurriel making an eye-squint gesture in the dugout after homering off of Darvish, who is half Japanese, during the Astros’ 5-3 win in Game 3. More outrage followed Saturday in light of the suspension, with many saying that delaying it until 2018 sends a message that racism will be tolerated to an extent.
Social media users gave their input, the vast majority of it being critical of MLB’s decision.
This story was originally published October 28, 2017 at 4:47 PM with the headline "Gurriel’s suspension for racist gesture set for 2018. Why fans think that’s too late."