The MLB world was rocked earlier this week when Arizona Diamondbacks infielder Ketel Marte broke down in tears during Tuesday's game against the Chicago White Sox due to a fan's vicious taunt about his deceased mother.
Marte received immediate support from manager Torey Lovullo and his teammates after the classless incident, and the fan has since been banned indefinitely at all MLB ballparks.
Marte opened up about the emotional moment on Friday and explained why the fan "crossed a line."
"I want to thank all of the fans who have been concerned about me," Marte said in an interview with Yancen Pujols. "What happened was, seventh inning I came to bat. I'm ready at the plate, I hear this fan shouting. He was on top of the dugout. He yelled at me, saying stuff about my mom.
"He was like, 'I sent your mom a text last night.' When everything happened with my mom, I was here in Chicago, I was in this city."
The D-Backs second baseman then sent a message to the taunting fan that was all class.
"People always yell stuff at me, but never about my mom. People know that my mom passed away in an accident," continued Marte. "But anyways, we're praying for [the fan] and his family too. May God protect them and help him heal his heart."
Ketel Marte says the fan yelled “I sent your mom a text last night”
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) June 27, 2025
Marte said it crosses the line when a fan speaks about his late mother, especially in Chicago because that’s where he was when she passed in 2017 pic.twitter.com/M9FJ9GuOTU
Marte's mom, Elpidia Valdez, died in a car accident in the Dominican Republic in 2017.
Marte's experience has empowered others in the MLB to share their ugly accounts of fan abuse, a longstanding issue in sports that unfortunately doesn't have an easy fix. All we can do is hope people learn how to show a little more empathy.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Diamondbacks’ Ketel Marte Had Classy Response to Fan Who Taunted Him About His Mother.
