Baltimore Orioles star slugger Adam Jones
divulged after yesterday’s game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park that
he was on the receiving end of racial
taunts from fans in the stands. The Red Sox swiftly made a public apology
and are reportedly
considering issuing lifetime bans for fans who are caught perpetrating such
behavior in the future, but reaction needs to be stronger and more widespread.
During his first at-bat in the next game, Jones received a strongly
positive response from the Boston crowd. While it makes for a good video
clip it cannot be viewed as a resolution to such a serious and disgusting situation.
The city of Boston has a lengthy
history of racism, which has been often matched by the Red Sox. The team
was the last in the major leagues to integrate, finally bringing infielder Pumpsie
Green to the big league roster in 1959, a full 12 years after pioneer Jackie
Robinson broke in with the Brooklyn Dodgers. The franchise is undoubtedly
in a better place with race relations than they have been in the past but the
recent Jones incident shows that the work is far from done.
Professional players expect to be booed. They might even
expect to be called names. That’s not my taste but that’s an entirely different
thing compared to bringing racism into the equation. This was no isolated
incident, as Boston has long had a reputation for such things happening in the
stands. New York Yankees pitcher C.C.
Sabathia said that black players expect
such behavior when they play at Fenway.
Just because many, or even the majority of, fans don’t participate
in such behavior, their silence is the strongest form of complicity. This goes
double for Red Sox staff. At any given time during a home game, there are
hundreds of vendors, ushers and security staff wandering through the crowds to
maintain order and happiness. There is no way that such displays truly go
unnoticed. Please don’t act surprised that this came to national attention now.
True baseball fans appreciate rivalry and fair play. There
is no room for racism or the tolerance of anyone at the games who are
perpetuating such vitriol. Fans need to step up and say something when they
observe this. Staff MUST step up and address these situations when they come
up. The front office must lead the charge in setting expectations and following
through with training and consequences as needed.
Once lagging behind all other major league teams in the areas
of social justice and equality, this is a unique opportunity for the Red Sox and
their fans to jump to the forefront of this important issue. Only time will
tell if they seize the day. As black Boston star Mookie Betts
tweeted
after the Jones story broke, “Fact: I'm Black too Literally stand up for @SimplyAJ10 tonight and say no
to racism. We as @RedSox and @MLB fans are better than this.”
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