An appeal to the 14-game suspension to Toronto Blue Jays hitting coach Brook Jacoby has been denied.

Jacoby, in his first year with the team, will begin his suspension on Friday night when the Jays open up a three-game weekend set with the Boston Red Sox at Rogers Centre.

It is alleged that the 55-year-old Jacoby made physical contact with an umpiring crew as they were exiting the field from Fenway Park last month.

Jacoby released a statement through the team on Friday afternoon.

"Unfortunately, there was a verbal altercation with the umpiring crew following a tough loss in Boston," Jacoby said in the statement. "Frustrations escalated, leading to an altercation in which I was wrongly accused of contacting an umpire in the the runway following our game, I'm in no way going to apologize for what happened and feel that the penalties were very biased, harsh and unfair. I feel vindicated by the fact that everyone very near to the incident corroborated my actions when interviewed.This is all I'm going to say about this issue and and I will not answer any questions concerning this incident from this point forward. The game we play isn't about the coaches or umpires, but about the players that play it."

Jacoby will be eligible to return to the team on Thursday, May 21 for the final game of a four-game home series against the Los Angeles Angels.