ST. LOUIS -- Claims that Chicago Cubs outfielder Jason Heyward was subjected to racial taunts from fans as he returned to Busch Stadium for the first time have yet to be substantiated, ESPN's Director of Communications says.
According to the New York Daily News, several fans claimed they heard racial slurs tossed at the outfielder over the ESPN broadcast as he played his first game this season against his old team. Heyward left the Cardinals for division-rival Chicago over the offseason.
Though those claims have generated a considerable amount of discussion and outrage online, an ongoing ESPN investigation into the audio has yet to pick up anything concrete. The Cardinals' investigation has also as of yet come up empty.
@NYDailyNews @Salon while we continue to review, we have yet to pick up on any tangible specifics from the ESPN game audio.
— Ben Cafardo (@Ben_ESPN) April 19, 2016
Heyward himself may not have heard any slurs, but he certainly heard the loud and passionate booing that started as soon as he was introduced. It doesn't seem to have phased him.
"If somebody boos me here, that means they were not happy to see me leave," Heyward told ESPN. "I'm kind of glad that people weren't happy to see me leave."
