Major League Baseball (MLB) on Sunday
fined and suspended without pay Atlanta Braves pitching coach Roger
McDowell, celebrity website TMZ.com reported.
The move comes after McDowell was
accused of hurling anti-gay slurs towards fans in San Francisco.
McDowell was fined an undisclosed
amount and suspended without pay for two weeks.
Thirty-three-year-old father-of-four
Justin Quinn made the accusations against McDowell at a Wednesday
news conference organized by Los Angeles attorney Gloria Allred.
Quinn accused McDowell of yelling to
three male fans sitting in the left field seats at ATT Park during a
game against the Giants last Saturday: “Are you a homo couple or a
threesome?”
He used a bat to simulate gay sex and
then asked, “Are you three giving it to each other in the ass?”
Quinn, who was attending the game with
his 9-year-old twin daughters, claims he told McDowell to watch his
language in front of children.
“Kids don't fucking belong at the
baseball park,” McDowell replied, then threatened Quinn with a
baseball bat. “How much are your teeth worth?” he asked.
“Conduct by people associated with
MLB that shows insensitivity to others simply cannot and will not be
tolerated,” MLB Commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement.
Quinn told the website that he was
pleased by the outcome.
“I understand the decision made today
by the Commissioner,” McDowell said in a statement. “I am
embarrassed by my actions and I plan to give a personal apology to
Mr. Quinn and his family.”
The disciplinary action comes on the
heels of the NBA leveling a $10,000 fine against Los Angeles Lakers
shooting guard Kobe Bryant for slurring
referee Bennie Adams with an anti-gay epithet during a nationally
televised basketball game.