ATLANTA—A moment of fiery competitiveness was no justification for the homophobic slur outfielder Kevin Pillar directed at an Atlanta Braves reliever on Wednesday night, an outburst worthy of a two-game suspension in the eyes of the Toronto Blue Jays.

“There’s no question that he was in the heat of the moment but that is no excuse whatsoever,” club general manager Ross Atkins said a day later as he announced Pillar’s suspension, effective immediately, just hours after flying to Atlanta to specifically address the incident.

It occurred during the seventh inning of Toronto’s 8-4 loss to Atlanta on Wednesday.

Motte, the first pitcher to come out of the bullpen after starter Mike Foltynewicz’s six-inning outing, threw Pillar a quick pitch, striking him out and ending the inning with the Jays down by five runs. Television replays showed a frustrated Pillar apparently saying “faggot” to Motte.

The 28-year-old apologized and took the blame for the altercation immediately following Wednesday’s game, but didn’t address the slur. He took responsibility for the “inappropriate language” in a social media post early Thursday afternoon, apologizing to fans, Major League Baseball and the LGBTQ community.

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“I’m going to work endlessly and tirelessly to earn their trust,” Pillar said just before Toronto faced Atlanta again Thuersday night. He was suspended for that game and for one in Baltimore on Friday night.

“That’s the biggest thing for me. There’s a lot of kids and a lot of people that look up to me. But I am a human being. I’m not perfect. I made a mistake, I own up to that mistake. I had many role models as a kid that were athletes as well and they made mistakes. Hopefully I have the opportunity to make this right and be a good example of accountability and taking ownership.”

The suspension was “definitely warranted,” said Pillar, who admitted to a sleepless night between Wednesday and Thursday as he mulled over how to address his outburst. By about two a.m., the outfielder was on the phone with his agent lamenting the things he wanted, but didn’t feel prepared, to say in the immediate aftermath of the game.

Where the word itself came from was a mystery, Pillar said.

“That was the first thing, when I got home. I talked to my wife and we talked about what happened. She was just as confused as I was of the choice of words. It’s not a word that I use ever. It’s something that’s not even part of my vocabulary. It’s just something that, I guess, came out.”

The outfielder said he was “embarassed” and “ashamed” by his actions.

“Hopefully my teammates, Major League Baseball, other sports, just people in society are going to learn from this, that there’s no place for this type of language on a baseball field, at home, in a clubhouse, with your friends in the privacy of your home,” he said. “There’s words out there that are very offensive to a lot of people regardless of how you use them or when you say them.”

The Blue Jays brought the two-game suspension to the league, who were investigating the incident as of early Thursday morning, and the players’ association, who all agreed it was an appropriate amount of time for Pillar to be sidelined.

Pillar’s salary for those two games, as well as an undisclosed fine, will be donated to charitable organizations; he is expected to undergo some sort of sensitivity training as well.

Atkins said the club will also work with LGBTQ organizations in Toronto to come up with thoughtful, impactful initiative that can help the Jays turn a “very awful” situation into a positive learning experience.

“These guys know that we have a responsibility and a platform to heighten inclusiveness and heighten awareness and sensitivity and we failed to do that,” he said.

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This is not the first time the Jays organization has dealt with a homophobic insult from one of its players.

As Pillar works to earn back the trust of a city he has served for more than four seasons, manager John Gibbons said he hopes this isolated incident doesn’t define the player. “I think that would be unfair because I know who he is and what he’s all about. But he understands what happened and he’ll deal with that.”

In September 2012, shortstop Yunel Escobar was suspended three games after playing against the Boston Red Sox with the Spanish words “TU ERE MARICON” written on eye black stickers, a black patch baseball players wear under their eyes to reduce the sun’s glare.

The phrase, which went unnoticed until a photo was posted online by a Jays fan, is most commonly translated to “You are a faggot” in English.