Latest news with #StillAlive
Boston Globe
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Taunts of Jarren Duran, Shedeur Sanders leaves a big question. When did common decency go out the window?
Advertisement Until it turns too ugly, and the joy evaporates, as we witnessed over the weekend. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up This is not to be a Pollyanna living in a fantasy world of flowers and rainbows. Sports has always been valuable as a repository for the devil on our shoulders, a dumping ground for anger and frustration when teams, players, or referees fail to do what we want. Booing a bad performance, debating a questionable trade, complaining about high prices, all of them are acceptable parts of the sporting discourse. Unlike what we saw with Duran and Sanders. Start with Duran, who was so Advertisement Shame on that fan. Here's hoping he never experiences the depths of despair that consumed Duran, that he never feels targeted the way Duran described in the episode of the recent Netflix documentary that was titled, 'Still Alive.' Related : 'I feel like people see us as zoo animals sometimes,' he said. 'We're like in this big old cage, people are trying to throw popcorn at you, get a picture with you, get your attention, scream your name. Sometimes some fans take it too seriously. I feel like they cross the line when they start talking about my mental health and start making fun of me for that. Calling me weak.' Weak? What Duran did took tremendous strength. The conversation since his revelation has, thankfully, mostly reinforced the importance of treating mental health injuries with as much seriousness as we do physical ones. 'The whole purpose of me sharing was to kind of get it out there and let people know that they're not alone,' Duran told reporters after the episode initially aired. 'If I can help just one person, it's meaningful. I'm just trying to let people know that there's always hope and to make sure they're reaching out.' There isn't as important a life lesson in what happened to Sanders, whose freefall in the draft became the hottest topic of the weekend. But I just couldn't shake the feeling of sadness over the decision by two young men, including 21-year-old Jax Ulbrich, the son of Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, to make that call and then laugh so uncontrollably at how they were able to dupe Sanders into believing they were the Saints calling to tell him they were about to draft him. Advertisement It felt like the cruelty was the point. Or maybe it was the internet fame. Or maybe it was just a reflection of where we've landed as a society. Do something mean, get caught, apologize, ask for forgiveness. Using social media to address Sanders and describe what he did (including taking the private cell phone number from off his father's iPad) as a 'tremendous mistake,' Jax admitted, 'what I did was completely inexcusable, embarrassing and shameful. I'm so sorry I took away from your moment, it was selfish and childish.' Related : Whatever the reasons for Sanders' draft fall, with multiple reports of a poor showing in one-on-one team interviews, the 23-year-old quarterback handled this potential embarrassment well. Speaking to reporters after eventually getting selected in the fifth round by the Browns, Sanders, who knows plenty about rubbing people the wrong way with his own brashness and confidence, brushed off what Ulbrich did. 'It didn't really have no impact on me because it was just like, OK. I don't feed into negativity or I don't feed into that stuff,' Sanders said. '. . . Of course, it's childish, of course I feel like it was a childish act, but everybody do childish things here and there.' Duran, who had to be held back from the fan at the moment, said afterwards: ' Advertisement The NFL said it continues to investigate their breach and the Guardians ejected the fan from the ballpark. Small steps to incidents that we only wish never happened. Tara Sullivan is a Globe columnist. She can be reached at
New York Times
09-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Jarren Duran wants those struggling with mental health to know they're not alone
BOSTON — For 12 minutes, Jarren Duran stood behind a podium in the Boston Red Sox clubhouse and discussed his mental health struggles and the message he hopes to get across in sharing his suicide attempt and recovery process in a new Netflix documentary. Duran spoke about his battles with depression and struggles with mental health in the fourth episode of Netflix's eight-part documentary, 'The Clubhouse: A year with the Red Sox.' The entire series was released Tuesday. Advertisement 'The whole purpose of me sharing it is just to kind of get it out there and let people know that they're not alone,' Duran said Tuesday, noting he has not seen the documentary yet. 'Even if I can just help one person, it's meaningful. I'm just trying to let people know that there's always help and to make sure that they're reaching out.' When Netflix announced in early 2024 that it would follow the team for a season-long documentary, Duran said he hadn't thought much about sharing his journey despite having started to open up publicly about some of his mental health struggles. Over the course of the series, Duran is interviewed several times, but he said the conversation he had with Netflix director Greg Whiteley in the fourth episode, 'Still Alive,' happened organically and it wasn't something he'd planned to reveal. 'I was sitting there kind of quiet, didn't really think that it was a good moment to talk about it, but then, I just kind of thought this could possibly help people out there that don't really want to talk about it,' Duran said. 'I just kind of took that leap of faith and hoped that it was going to do more good than bad.' Duran said support from the Red Sox and his teammates has been invaluable over the past few years as he worked through his mental health struggles and implored others to reach out for help. 'Even hearing this kind of stuff, (teammates) haven't changed the way they've talked to me or anything like that,' he said. 'So that's been the biggest thing; I didn't want it to be this thing where they like treating me differently, but no, they're still talking smack to me and I'm talking smack back to them. We still have that love language. So, it's been awesome.' One of Duran's closest friends on the team, Rob Refsnyder, has seen Duran's struggles up close and commended Duran for sharing his story. Advertisement 'I know it's going to impact a lot of people, a lot of younger people that are probably a little bit embarrassed or scared or they don't really know who to talk to about how they're feeling,' Refsnyder said. 'It takes a lot of guts to put yourself out there on such a national stage. 'Shoot. I mean, we weren't having these conversations when I first started playing at the major-league level (in 2015),' he added. 'I think a lot of people struggle silently, and I think slowly the way conversation has gotten more of it's OK to ask for help. It's a lot more common than you think.' The 28-year-old Duran acknowledged it wasn't easy to speak up and he still has down moments, but he has learned methods to manage his mental well-being, particularly by journaling his thoughts. 'I've definitely reached out a lot more than I used to, that's a big thing for me,' he said. 'Even when I tell myself, I'm not going to bother with this, I go back to stuff that I journaled like, 'Hey, if you ever get into this headspace again, make sure you reach out.' So I'm just reminding myself that it's important to reach out. Knowing that other people are doing that because I talked about it, it's really heartwarming. And I hope that I can help spread the love that people need to support each other.' On Monday when news about the 'Still Alive' episode was initially reported, Samaritans, Inc., a suicide prevention service in the Boston area, received triple the number of texts compared to March 2025 to Hey Sam, its youth peer-to-peer text line for people under the age of 25 (Text: 439-726). As part of the national 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, Samaritans also fielded more than twice as many calls compared to the previous Monday. Duran is launching the Jarren Duran Community Foundation and selling T-shirts with the phrases: 'Still alive, F— 'em' and 'Silence the demons' on the front and back. A portion of the proceeds go toward his foundation. A post shared by Big Swole (@duranjarren) 'I want to kind of focus on everybody, but also the younger generation, because I know growing up I had no idea what was going on (in terms of getting help),' he said. 'So I feel like if we can help them at a younger age, it just prepares them for their adulthood. 'I've seen a couple comments on some of my posts that are about kids, like, 'Hey, I'm your biggest fan, and knowing that you're talking about it means I can talk about it, so I wanted to say thank you.' Seeing that stuff hits really, really deep.' Manager Alex Cora noted the importance of Duran raising awareness to an issue so many people struggle with alone. Advertisement 'He's standing in that clubhouse talking about real stuff,' Cora said, adding that he believes Duran should win MLB's annual Roberto Clemente Award. 'The growth from the player, from the person, the relationships, we're very proud of him. We're saving lives now, that's what he's doing. He's saving lives. For a guy that wears his emotions on his sleeves, we should applaud him. 'We're very proud of him.' If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.
NBC News
07-04-2025
- Entertainment
- NBC News
Red Sox star Jarren Duran reveals suicide attempt in new Netflix series
Years before Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran played his way to the All-Stars in 2024, the mounting pressure of the 2022 season nearly ended him. Duran revealed he attempted to take his own life in the new Netflix docuseries, 'The Clubhouse: A Year With the Red Sox,' that will be released Tuesday. In the fourth episode, "Still Alive," Duran opened up about his yearslong battle with depression, the attempt to take his own life with a rifle and the season that brought him to a breaking point. Duran was inundated with negativity in his 2022 season. He was failing to live up to his own expectations, hearing the echoes of home fans' disappointment in him and listening to announcers calling out his shortcomings. 'I would think every day, 'I can't f---ing do this,'' Duran admitted. 'I couldn't deal with telling myself how much I sucked every f---ing day. Like I was already hearing it from fans and, like, what they say to me. It's like, I haven't told myself 10 times worse than that in the mirror." 'It was a pretty low time for me. Like, I didn't even wanna be here any more," he continued. A voice from off camera asks, 'When you say 'here,' you mean 'here' with the Red Sox or 'here' on planet Earth?' "Probably both," he replied. "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. 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." 'But I took it as a sign of, like, all right, I might have to be here for a reason. So that's when I started to look myself in the mirror. After the gun didn't go off, I was, like, 'All right, well like, 'Do I wanna be here or do I not wanna be here?'" Duran's vulnerability about the new revelation is being saluted by league leaders. 'Jarren's decision to share his story is an act of courage that reaches far beyond baseball,' said Red Sox president Sam Kennedy in a statement, the Boston Globe reported. 'Every member of this organization continues to stand with him. He has our deepest admiration, he's always had our full support, and we're incredibly fortunate to have him as part of our team.' Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred gave praise to Duran as well. 'Providing comprehensive mental health support for our players is a responsibility that Major League Baseball and all of our Clubs take very seriously. We commend Jarren Duran for sharing his story of perseverance,' Manfred told the Globe. 'Through the courage of Jarren and other players, we are able to use our platform to demonstrate the importance of mental health awareness and communication to the fans of our national pastime.' The 28-year-old reflected on the pressures of his childhood earlier in the Netflix episode, feeling like he had to live up to the high expectations his father, Octavio, set for him. His father was always pushing him to be a better player, Duran said, sometimes throwing baseballs at him when he was younger. 'It was tough love. But I feel like everybody has gone through that,' Duran said. 'He was always hard on me and I wanted to prove him wrong.' It was no secret that Duran was facing what he calls "demons" at the time of his suicide attempt. He publicly spoke about about his mental health struggles in a 2022 Mass Live interview, opening up about the emotionally trying season and admitting it was difficult to stay in the majors. 'I'm kind of just tearing myself up internally and get pretty depressed and stuff like that," he said. "I find it hard to reach out to people because I don't want to bother other people with my problems. I kind of just build it up inside myself, which obviously makes everything a lot worse." And the fans still did not let up on Duran, he said in the docuseries. 'I feel they cross the line when they start talking about, like, my mental health and making fun of me for that, calling me weak' Duran told Netflix. But Duran persevered, starting the 2023 season at Triple-A and returning to the Majors early that season. His career only took off from there; he was the Most Valuable Player of the 2024 All-Star game the following year. He wrote 'F--- 'em' on the tape on his left wrist, saying in the Netflix series, "It's me telling my demons, 'You're not going to faze me.'" Shortly after the All-Star game, Duran faced an unpaid suspension for two games after calling a heckling fan a homophobic slur while playing against the Houston Astros. He issued a statement after the game, which the Red Sox lost 10-2, apologizing for his outburst. 'I feel awful knowing how many people I offended and disappointed,' Duran said. 'I apologize to the entire Red Sox organization, but more importantly to the entire LGBTQ community. Our young fans are supposed to be able to look up to me as a role model, but tonight I fell far short of that responsibility.' Now, Duran stays mindful of his mental health, saying in "The Clubhouse" that it's still an everyday battle to be proud of himself. He prioritizes keeping a daily journal to process his feelings and has books of positive affirmations. He also keeps reminders of his mental health with him on the field. Alongside the message on his left wrist tape, Duran shared the other one written on his right. "I write, 'Still alive' because I'm still here and I'm still fighting." If you or someone you know is in crisis, call 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call the network, previously known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, at 800-273-8255
New York Times
07-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Red Sox's Jarren Duran will get warm ovation his next at-bat. His struggle touches us all
BOSTON — Jarren Duran is going to get quite an ovation the next time he steps up to bat at Fenway Park. It'll be thunderous, yet somehow warm. It'll be heartfelt, but from the gut. And it'll have absolutely nothing to do with the breakout, MVP-caliber season Duran gave the Red Sox in 2024. In the fourth installment of the Netflix eight-part documentary, 'The Clubhouse: A year with the Red Sox,' which will be available on Tuesday, Duran reveals that he made a suicide attempt — apparently in 2022, which was a season of struggles for the then-25-year-old outfielder. The Athletic's Jen McCaffrey, who was among media members who received a copy of the documentary before its release, reports that Duran spoke candidly about his mental health in the fourth episode, titled 'Still Alive.' Advertisement Duran has discussed these issues in past interviews, but this is the first time he has talked publicly about suicide. What that does, in an instant, is transform this sensationally talented ballplayer — he's now 28 — into one of us. To consider that Duran considered suicide forces all of us to do an accounting of the people we've known who, for a myriad of reasons, felt compelled to take their own lives. For some, it's been a family member, a friend, a co-worker. Or it's one of our friend's loved ones. It's the kid down the street. It's someone you haven't seen in years, the news arriving through an item in the paper, or a Facebook post, or a story that gets mentioned at a school reunion. It touches all of us. And so it will be for Red Sox fans the next time they see Duran on the field at Fenway, be it Monday night's series opener against the Toronto Blue Jays, or Tuesday's game. It won't be the first time Red Sox fans have supported a player going through a hard time off the field. On June 17, 1986, the mother of Red Sox third baseman Wade Boggs was killed when the car she was driving was broadsided by a cement truck. Boggs returned home to Florida to be with his family and attend the funeral of Sue Boggs. He returned after missing six games and was in the lineup at Fenway for Boston's June 23 game against the New York Yankees. Boggs received a standing ovation from the 35,355 fans who packed the place. An emotional Boggs felt compelled to step out of the batter's box. 'That resonates so much with me right now,' Boggs said in 2016 when he returned to Fenway for the retirement of his No. 26. 'I looked at the umpire and said, 'Are we going to start the game?' And he said, 'No, I'm enjoying this.' The fans were so supportive, so wonderful.' They didn't cheer because Boggs was leading the American League in hitting at the time, or because he was on his way to the third of his five career batting titles in what turned out to be a Hall of Fame career. To see Boggs at the plate that night was to see a man who was just now getting back to work after losing his mother under tragic circumstances. Who couldn't identify with that? Advertisement And so it'll be for Duran. Sox fans cheered wildly last season as Duran submitted a .285/..342/.492 slash line and led the American League in doubles (48) and triples (14). They cheered as Duran's once-erratic outfield defense improved to a degree that he was in the Gold Glove discussion. They cheered him for the two-run homer in the All-Star Game that provided the margin of victory in the AL's 5-3 victory over the NL. Duran has had a couple of unsettling on-field incidents. In 2022, after misplaying a ball in the outfield at Kansas City, he had to be restrained by teammate Alex Verdugo when he began jawing with fans. Last August at Fenway, a live mic on NESN picked up Duran yelling a homophobic slur, presumably intended for the louth-mouth fan who can be heard shouting at him. Duran was suspended for two games in that case. Red Sox players being jeered at Fenway isn't new. It happened to Ted Williams, who always said he wanted to be the greatest hitter that ever lived, and by most measures was just that. It happened to Carl Yastrzemski, who replaced Williams in left field and forged his own Hall of Fame career. Duran was wrong on both occasions, but things were adjudicated and life went on. Duran talks about fans in the Netflix documentary. 'I feel like people see us as zoo animals sometimes, in this big ole cage, throw popcorn at you, get a picture with you, get your attention, scream your name,' Duran says. 'Sometimes some fans take it too seriously,' Duran says. 'I feel like they cross the line when they talk about my mental health and make fun of me for that, calling me weak. It triggers me when you start talking about my mental health. Part of it is that loneliness, some people deal with it better than others.' Moving forward, fans will cheer Duran or razz Duran as circumstances dictate. That's all later on. But he's got a collective attaboy coming his way at Fenway the next time he's at the plate. I haven't seen the Netflix doc on the Red Sox, and therefore can't judge its accuracy or artistry, but the title of that installment on Duran — 'Still Alive' — is something we can all cheer. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.
New York Times
07-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Jarren Duran discusses his mental health journey, suicide attempt in new Netflix documentary
Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran, who has discussed his mental health struggles in the past, reveals in a Netflix documentary set to air this week that he attempted suicide. In the episode, Duran describes his mental anguish during that time and some of the steps he's taken since then to improve his mental health. Advertisement Duran spoke about his battles with depression and struggles with mental health in the fourth episode of Netflix's eight-part documentary, 'The Clubhouse: A year with the Red Sox.' All eight episodes are available on Tuesday. The Athletic was among a group of media outlets that received an advanced copy of the documentary (Editor's note: Jen McCaffrey appears in the documentary, though not in this episode). The 49-minute fourth episode, titled 'Still Alive,' focuses almost exclusively on Duran, who has spoken about his mental health struggles but had never revealed these specific details publicly before. The documentary does not specify when the attempt was made, but it's suggested it was during the 2022 season. Netflix director Greg Whiteley said he'd interviewed Duran throughout last season as one of the main subjects of the documentary, and followed Duran from the team plane to the team hotel one day to see what it was like for a player to prepare the night before a road game. He was not expecting the conversation to turn so personal. 'My memory of it was (that) Jarren, as the conversation became more serious, he was slow and measured with his words and was very intentional about the information he was giving me,' Whiteley said by phone. Whiteley said he reached out to Duran after the interview to make sure Duran was comfortable with sharing such a personal story, and Duran confirmed he was. When asked about the documentary this spring, before anyone had seen the advanced screener, Duran spoke more generally about what the documentary was trying to accomplish. 'You sit back and look, Netflix did (documentaries) on Formula 1 and it really blew up the sport… We're really expanding baseball. So that kind of hit home for me. We're just trying to grow the sport,' he said. Advertisement Duran has said he will speak with the media on Tuesday, when the documentary is available to the public, about why he chose to open up now. His story is likely to be new to many of his teammates, as most players have not yet seen an advanced copy of the documentary. 'I felt as though this was something aligning with a mission he had articulated,' Whiteley said. 'Bringing awareness to this issue of mental illness is something he feels like he can do by virtue of the platform he's been given as a Major League Baseball player, and I felt like that interview that night was an extension of that mandate.' 'Jarren's decision to share his story is an act of courage that reaches far beyond baseball,' Red Sox President and CEO Sam Kennedy said in a statement. 'By opening up, he's showing others who may be struggling that they're not alone and that asking for help isn't just okay, it's essential. Every member of this organization continues to stand with him. He has our deepest admiration, he's always had our full support, and we're incredibly fortunate to have him as part of our team.' The episode begins with the Boston Celtics, having just won the NBA Championship, visiting the Red Sox at Fenway Park in June. Red Sox players discuss the pressures and expectations of playing in Boston and the conversation shifts to Duran, who describes the difficulty of playing in a market with so much passion. 'I feel like people see us as zoo animals sometimes, in this big ole cage, throw popcorn at you, get a picture with you, get your attention, scream your name,' Duran says. 'Sometimes some fans take it too seriously,' he adds. 'I feel like they cross the line when they talk about my mental health and make fun of me for that, calling me weak. It triggers me when you start talking about my mental health. Part of it is that loneliness, some people deal with it better than others.' Advertisement The episode builds from Duran's upbringing as a smaller-than-average kid growing up in Southern California with a father who was very hard on him and includes interviews with his parents. Duran describes always having to work harder because he was smaller, but also never feeling like he was good enough. When Long Beach State recruited him in high school, he almost didn't call back because he didn't believe in himself. Nevertheless, he excelled at Long Beach State and was drafted in the seventh round by the Red Sox in 2018. Once he turned pro, he was an unheralded prospect once again. But Duran rose through the prospect ranks and reached the majors, debuting in July 2021. The documentary shows Duran, who came up as a second baseman and transitioned to the outfield largely at the big-league level, struggling mightily through the end of 2021 and particularly 2022. The Red Sox believed Duran's athleticism would be an asset in the outfield, but he had never fully solidified outfield fundamentals before his debut, and the repeated defensive failures compounded for Duran, especially as he struggled at the plate in 2022, hitting .221 with a .645 OPS in 58 games. In late July 2022, Duran infamously lost a deep fly ball off the bat of Toronto's Raimel Tapia with the bases loaded at Fenway Park. As the ball bounced past him and Alex Verdugo raced to retrieve it, Duran stood and stared blankly as Tapia rounded the bases for an inside-the-park grand slam that went viral. Two weeks later, there was another tough incident where Duran misplayed a ball in the outfield in Kansas City and then got into a shouting match with fans in the stands as Verdugo held him back. 'I started thinking about when I debuted, how I felt like I was on a frickin' island all by myself and the world was falling apart beneath my feet,' Duran says. Advertisement The Netflix documentary shows Twitter posts and media clips mocking Duran after the two incidents. 'I'd go out to center and hear, 'Go back to Triple A, you don't belong here,'' Duran recalled. 'They didn't know how hard I was trying. 'I couldn't deal with telling myself how much I sucked every f— day,' Duran said. That's when the documentary shifts to Duran on a couch in a team hotel on the road where he reveals his attempt to take his life. 'I didn't want to be here anymore,' Duran says, as Whiteley, off camera, asks if he means 'here' as in with the Red Sox or on Earth. 'Probably both, that was a really tough time for me,' Duran says. Duran describes sitting in his room and attempting to take his life. For reasons he says he still doesn't understand, he survived unharmed. 'I took it as a sign I might have to be here for a reason,' he says. 'So that's when I started to look at myself in the mirror, I was like, 'All right, do I want to be here or do I not want to be here?' I was like 'that happened for a reason and obviously you're here for a f— reason so let's f— be the way you want to be, let's play the way you want to play, and let's live the way I want to live.'' Whiteley asks Duran if he's told anyone close to him, like his parents, about this before. Duran takes a deep breath. 'I don't think I've told them the full extent like that,' he says. 'I know I need to sit down with them and tell them the whole story. It's just scary to me because I hate putting my parents through stuff like that. It's hard to see them get upset when I tell them. It makes me feel like a bad person. I don't want to burden other people with my problems.' Though he's never previously revealed the depths of his struggles, Duran has been increasingly open about his mental health. At the end of 2022, Duran spoke with MassLive about some of his difficulties. which was the first time he'd publicly discussed his mental health. From there, he slowly began to speak out more. Advertisement In 2023, he began wearing athletic tape on his wrists with words that inspire him. He had previously declined to explain the full extent of what the words meant to him. 'On my left wrist I write, 'F— 'em' because it's me telling my demons, 'F— you, you're not going to faze me,' and on my right wrist, I write, 'Still alive' because I'm still here and I'm still fighting,' he says in the documentary. The documentary shows Duran journaling and explaining his writing process. He first began by writing down rambling thoughts, but now he writes affirmations. 'I am worthy of success and celebrate my achievements, no matter how small,' he says. The episode is interspersed with clips of a home game against the Blue Jays in late June, in which the Red Sox mount a late comeback capped by Duran's walk-off single. 'My inner demons don't let me love myself or want to be proud of myself, that's something I'm still working on,' he said. In August of last season, Duran was suspended two games for yelling a homophobic slur at a fan in the stands at Fenway Park. The documentary covers the incident in a separate episode. Duran won MVP of the All-Star Game last summer and finished eighth in AL MVP voting, hitting .285 with an .834 OPS with 21 homers in 160 games, while leading the majors in doubles (48) and triples (14). He was a Gold Glove Award finalist in center field. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.
