From the moment it became obvious exactly what Kevin Pillar yelled in the direction of Jason Motte, punishment as well as backlash were inevitable.

And deservedly so.

The punishment for the homophobic slur directed at the Atlanta Braves reliever arrived Thursday afternoon in the form of a two-game suspension handed down jointly by the Toronto Blue Jays and Major League Baseball.

The backlash, however, is still sorting itself out, and will likely continue to do so for a long period of time whether the Jays' centre fielder likes it or not.

In the first 24 hours, Pillar has been accountable and has gone about things the right way, but it’s only the first in a series of steps to prove it’s a genuine and sincere reaction to an ugly situation derived from using an even uglier word.

Following Wednesday night’s game at SunTrust Park in Atlanta, Pillar was clearly disappointed in himself, alluding to what he said as being way offside but not really addressing the issue head on.

After Pillar struck out on a breaking ball that was way off the plate to end the top half of the seventh inning, in yet another game that had slipped away from the struggling Jays, the 28-year-old could be seen yelling at Motte, which immediately drew a reaction from not only the pitcher but Braves catcher Kurt Suzuki and home plate umpire Brian O’Nora.

Upset about what he thought was a quick-pitch, Pillar made the wrong choice of words, and both dugouts emptied.

Only a few people realized at the time the fight on the field would be the least of Pillar’s problems. Based on his sheepish reaction and post-game comments, Pillar was one of them.

The California native, who just a few days earlier had been celebrating a walk-off homer with his parents in the crowd at Rogers Centre on Mother’s Day, took to Twitter on Thursday to expand on his “inappropriate language” and offer another apology.

“I had just helped extend a word that has no place in baseball, in sports or anywhere in society today,” wrote Pillar, later expanding on it when he met with the media at SunTrust Park. “I am completely and utterly embarrassed and feel horrible to have put the fans, my teammates and the Blue Jays organization in this position. I have also apologized personally to Jason Motte, but also need to apologize to the Braves organization, their fans and most importantly the LGBTQ community for the lack of respect I displayed last night.

“This is not who I am and I will use this as an opportunity to better myself.”

The word Pillar used is one that shouldn’t be said anywhere in 2017, let alone in the middle of a televised baseball game with 28,293 people in the stands by someone who is considered a role model and a Superman-like hero to many.

We have to also take into account that Pillar is a human being. Human beings make mistakes.

Humans also have to pay certain prices for their actions, and Pillar will now have to spend time rehabbing his image, dealing with the inevitable backlash he will receive in visiting ballparks, on social media, and probably in many other to-be-determined ways, as well.

Fair or not, that’s how it goes.

Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins quickly flew to Atlanta on Thursday to address the situation, and it’s clear the franchise wasn’t happy with one of its most marketable and productive players doing something like this.

“In no way is this kind of behaviour accepted or tolerated, nor is it a reflection of the type of inclusive organization we strive to be,” the Blue Jays said in a statement. “We would like to extend our own apologies to all fans, Major League Baseball and especially the LGBTQ community.”

The Jays aren’t strangers to this sort of controversy.

In September 2012, shortstop Yunel Escobar was handed a three-game suspension without pay by the club for writing a homophobic slur in Spanish on his eye black.

Translated, it’s the exact same word Pillar uttered.

The punishment levied by the Jays in a similar fashion alongside MLB and the Players' Association also included donations to You Can Play and the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).

Considering the punishment is one game less and we are five years of progress ahead of where we were in 2012, the suspension may seem light to some, but the pre-meditated nature of the Escobar embarrassment may have been taken into account.

The incident happening on International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia created even more awareness — in all the wrong ways — that this issue is still a huge problem at every level of society.

“I’m going to be used as an example of how words can really offend a lot of people,” Pillar said. “And I look forward to making it right.”

Pillar will get every chance to rebound from this, learn from this, and turn a negative into a positive, but it might be a lifelong effort to get some to forgive and forget.

He at least seems willing to make that sort of commitment.