MLB suspends Cavalli, Contreras for seven games after benches-clearing brawl

[p]If neither player appeals, the suspensions begin on Friday, July 3rd. [/p][embed guid="fb071ab7-3244-4d3c-a8ed-108493dfefac" url="https://x.com/MLBONFOX/status/2072799668875166091?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]The incident came after [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cavalli-cade/l2hFS2hQ/"]Cavalli[/a] said [b]"sit down, boy" [/b]to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/contreras-willson/nwyMfTpS/"]Contreras[/a] after striking him out. Contreras stared down Cavalli and said, [b]"You talking to me?"[/b] before he tried to launch his helmet at Cavalli. [/p][p]Both benches and bullpens cleared, trying to calm down the situation. [/p][embed guid="06f43dfb-538a-4a70-919c-cce0782431e6" url="https://x.com/JomboyMedia/status/2072127595810828325?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]Their issues on Tuesday night started after Contreras brushed by Cavalli as he jogged back to his dugout at the end of the first inning. [/p][p]Contreras stated that it was completely by accident, and he even apologized immediately afterwards, as the video replay shows he did. [/p][p][b]"If he thinks that was on purpose, it wasn't," [/b]said Contreras after the game.  [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/boston-red-sox/zaXTinF3/"]Red Sox[/a] Manager Chad Tracy also defended Contreras' actions.[/p][p][b]"I don't know if you saw it, but he said, 'Sorry, my bad',"[/b] said Tracy. [/p][embed guid="b9296a88-892f-4a48-b8f2-1285c8798221" url="https://x.com/NESN/status/2072362359973126224?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]The word "boy" has been a derogatory term primarily used towards Black people throughout America's history, but also towards Hispanics as well. The U.S. Supreme Court case [i]Ash v. Tyson Foods[/i] (2006) even ruled the word as a racist epithet depending on context and how it's said. [/p][p]Cavalli did later issue an apology following the incident. [/p][p][b]"Obviously, there was no ill intention behind it,"[/b] said Cavalli.[/p][p][b]"It hurt my heart, knowing that, if there's a 13-year-old Black kid in D.C. who sees that, who looked up to me and thinks that he perceived it in a way that wasn't intended, the way it came out, and then he's not looking up to me anymore. That hurts my heart."[/b][/p][p][b]"It'll never happen again."[/b][/p][p][b]"I have not reached out to (Contreras). I know that we're both competitors, I hope that he hears this and he understands that that was not what was intended at all. I think he knows that. But if I see him, I want to make sure that he knows that."[/b][/p][embed guid="f6937ac8-ec1d-4fc8-bc82-1ffea169e2a8" url="https://x.com/YahooSports/status/2072421481779249428?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]Cavalli finished the game after tossing 13 strikeouts and allowing one hit through seven innings. The brawl marked the second straight game Contreras was tossed, becoming the first player in Red Sox history to be ejected in back-to-back games.[/p][p]The first came on June 29th when he "mimicked an umpire."[/p][embed guid="76d17cdb-a8cb-4beb-98ea-d309912b6ca6" url="https://x.com/tylermilliken_/status/2071743362915352644?s=20" social-type="twitter" /]