Rays manager Joe Maddon came to the defense of B.J. Upton when a fan hurled a racial slur at the outfielder on Sunday during a spring game against the Orioles. Maddon had security remove the fan from Port Charlotte Sports Park. "It's good to see guys have your back like that. Joe wasn't the only one. There were a number of guys up there," Upton said. "I was too busy worried about the slider I swung and missed out of the zone. "I heard what he said, but I wasn't really worried about it, but for me to turn around and see all those guys on the top step defending me, man that's pretty cool." Upton had just struck out in the sixth inning when the fan in an Orioles jersey yelled something that Upton and Maddon didn't want to repeat. "He said something racial, and I didn't like it," Maddon said. "He can say whatever he wants, but don't go there. I didn't want B.J. to go up in the stands and do anything at that point, so I just made sure he was taken out of there. "You can yell what you want, you can say what you want. 'You stink' is fine. 'I don't like your hair,' that's fine. 'Your new glasses look terrible.' ... But don't start getting racial." Upton says the slurs are not uncommon.