Major League Baseball chose to not suspend Detroit Tigers centerfielder Tyler Collins for his obscene gesture made at the booing home fans during the Tigers 7-3 win over the Oakland A's.
Collins misplayed a fly ball, resulting in a Justin Upton error when the ball dropped for a double. Jeers ensued and Collins lashed out by waving his one-fingered gesture to the Tigers fans.
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The league reviewed the incident, but decided not to suspend the 25-year-old, which is surprising since, in 2014, Jonathan Paplebon was suspended seven games and fined an undisclosed amount for grabbing his crotch and aiming his gesture at fans.
Bit of a double standard, no?
Collins apologized after Monday's game, saying hearing the boos made him "lash out."
"I'm absolutely embarrassed and I'm very sorry to everyone in Detroit," Collins said, almost immediately after the game.
Contrition aside, not suspending Collins is a bad look for baseball. First, it tells the fans that his actions are acceptable, a strange notion given baseball is supposed to be a family game, Now, if another player decides to do something similar, he'll be able to say, "Well you didn't suspend Tyler Collins, why should I get suspended?"
Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said that if the club decides to hand out any punishment for Collins' actions, they be done "internally."
Not good enough.
[h/t ESPN]
