Harsh penalty for fan who insulted Ketel Marte’s late mother during White Sox game

Major League Baseball has banned a Chicago White Sox fan from all 30 stadiums after he made an inappropriate comment about the mother of Arizona Diamondbacks star Ketel Marte, who passed away recently.

After the seventh-inning incident during Tuesday's game between the teams at Guaranteed Rate Field, Marte began to cry. The 22-year-old fan who commented was escorted from the stadium by security, and MLB is also looking into it.

MLB responds with harsh penalty after Ketel Marte insult at White Sox game

While the exact comment from the fan has not been released, it is certainly confirmed that the remark was for Marte's mother, who passed away in an automobile accident in the Dominican Republic in 2017.

Marte had to regroup between pitches after hearing how heavy that comment felt to him emotionally. He played in the game, going 2-for-4 with a home run as the Diamondbacks won 4-1, but you could see the event had taken an emotional toll on him on the field.

It is at least the second time this MLB season a fan has invaded a player's personal space, and is part of a larger trend of fan misbehavior across a variety of sports in the last few years.

MLB and the White Sox moved quickly, issuing the rarest of league-wide bans to try to send the message that there is no tolerance for personal abuse derived from a fan's perspective. Healthy competitive fire and energy are welcome, but attacking someone's family will not be tolerated in any circumstance, and the league made it clear that message is being sent.

D-backs manager stands by Ketel Marte after emotional fan incident

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo supported his star second baseman and spoke with Marte earlier in the day. Lovullo called Marte a “remarkable young man,” and said, “It showcases a lot about him to express himself that way in this situation.”“Yeah, of course I have,” Lovullo said when asked if he had spoken with Marte. “He's incredibly strong, and last night was not easy for him… We had a text exchange before I went to sleep last night. It seemed like he was in a better place.”Also Read: What fan said about Ketel Marte’s dead mother that made him cry in front of Diamondbacks teammatesLovullo, who received the NBCA award, said he was also thankful for not only the Diamondbacks and their fan base but also for the Chicago White Sox organization that helped move the incident along. In his brief availability, the manager touched not just on what is to come, but also on what exists in moments like this within the baseball family.