Fans, Be Warned: All Heckling Now Must Be Politically Correct

In a move certain to draw cheers from some and, um, jeers from others, MLB umpire Bob Davidson said he tossed a fan out of a Tuesday night game because he "used a homophobic slur."

The target of Sean Ottow's heckling was Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina. Davidson said he gave Ottow the heave-ho because he thought Molina was going to do -- well, what you or I would do if someone yelled the same thing at us.

"Molina, I thought he was going to go toward (the fan) and I said, 'I'll take care of it,'" said Davidson, who was the plate umpire. "I was going to wait until between innings and not be so obvious, but I figured after he said that, he was very intoxicated, I needed to take care of it."

Ottow, who was cited for disorderly conduct but still managed to give a handcuffed interview to the AP, tried to make the argument about whether Molina was tough enough for the heckling that is a part of baseball.

But even that should have certain boundaries; would anyone have cheered Ottow if he had used a racial slur? It's a lesson that will apparently cost Ottow $185 to learn. Or, more likely, not learn.