Yunel Escobar wore eye black Saturday, and the words “Tu Ere Maricon” were written on them. That translates to “you’re a faggot.” (Tim Tebow had a much better message during his Florida days.) The internet was consumed by football over the weekend, and didn’t notice until Monday afternoon. Escobar hasn’t addressed the issue, but the Blue Jays organization released this statement:

“The Toronto Blue Jays do not support the discrimination of any kind nor condone the message displayed by Yunel Escobar during Saturday’s game. The club takes this situation seriously and is investigating the matter.”

Curiously, the Globe & Mail wrote this (bold ours):

Mr. Escobar, a 29-year-old native of Havana, Cuba, has been seen at other games this season with different Spanish phrases written on his eye black.

It is unclear if Mr. Escobar wrote the words himself, or if the shortstop is the victim of a tasteless prank.

I’ve never applied eye black, so I’ve got to ask – do players put the eye black on their face, and then have teammates write on them? If not, how could this possibly be a prank? [Globe & Mail]

[UPDATE: The Blue Jays announced Escobar has been suspended three games. Of the eye black, Escobar said it was "just a joke."]

Previously: Yunel Escobar’s Offensive Eye Black Likely to Earn a Sitdown With Bud Selig