Gurriel Statement
Initially, Gurriel responded with ignorace about how his actions were perceived as offensive. Later on, in his satement, he admits he didn’t know how offensive the action was.
“The truth is, I don’t know, I didn’t know how offensive it was. What I do know is that it wasn’t my intention,” Gurriel said postgame. “I really feel, I feel … I’m sorry because there were people that felt really offended, and that was in no way my intention, so I’m really sorry.”
Commisioner Manfred said that he felt Gurriel understood that “both the language and the gesture were offensive.”
Darvish Response
Darvish said postgame he was bothered by it, but that it was a learning experience. Teammate and outfielder Kike Hernández said he spoke with Darvish about the incident and described Darvish as “extremely disappointed, as expected.” Darvish posted a tweet afterward, saying he believed what Gurriel had done was “not right.”