It was a regular Tuesday night game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Chicago White Sox on June 24, 2025, when Ketel Marte walked up to the plate during the seventh inning. But within moments, viewers at home saw the 31-year-old MLB athlete shake his head while turning to look at a fan in the stands — then breaking down in tears. The heckler was ejected from the game, and the D-backs rallied around Marte as he cried. It turned out that the fan said cruel remarks about Marte’s late mother, who died in 2017.
Find out everything that happened to Marte, who the fan was and how the incident was handled below.
White Sox fans please give Ketel Marte a standing ovation tomorrow pic.twitter.com/pWu4usrDdc
— bson (@bsonnn4) June 25, 2025
The identity of the fan has not been disclosed by the time of publication. The only known detail is that the person is a 22-year-old white man.
D-backs Manager Torey Lovullo said he heard what the fan said to Marte about his mother but did not want to repeat it, according to AZCentral.
According to the White Sox, the heckler was “very apologetic and remorseful” after he was ejected from the game and admitted that the comments he made were inappropriate.
