Red Sox officially ban fan caught using racial slur at Fenway Park
The Boston Red Sox have had enough of the racial slurs being thrown around Fenway Park and are beginning to take action.
According to a team press release on Wednesday, a fan has been permanently banned from Fenway Park after being caught directing a racial slur toward another person during Tuesday night’s game.
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The Boston Globe reported the incident happened immediately following the national anthem, which has been performed by a Kenyan woman. The report states a Red Sox fan wearing a team hat and T-shirt uttered a racial slur to describe the woman’s rendition of the anthem.
That incident came 24 hours after Baltimore Orioles star Adam Jones reported receiving racially-fueled taunts all throughout Monday’s game in Boston.
In wake of that, the Red Sox indicated that banning fans could be an option if the problem persisted. Perhaps another incident happening so quickly and so out in the open alerted them to how quickly the issue needed to be addressed.
Here’s more from the Red Sox release:
“During Tuesday night’s Red Sox-Orioles game, it was reported to Red Sox security that a racial slur was used in a comment from one fan to another fan. The offending individual was promptly ejected from the ballpark and has since been notified they are no longer welcome at Fenway Park.
“The Red Sox organization will not tolerate the use of racial slurs at Fenway Park, and we have apologized to those affected. There is no place for racial epithets at Fenway Parker, in baseball, or in our society. The Red Sox have turned the matter over to the Boston Police Department, who will further investigate with their civil rights unit and determine whether it merits further action.”
The Red Sox also ejected 34 fans from Monday’s game, but say only one was related to offensive language being used. It was not clear if that language was directed toward Adam Jones.
The team did not provide any further details on Tuesday’s incident, other than to note the matter was handed to Boston Police for further investigation. However, the phrasing “no longer welcome at Fenway Park” indicates the ban is considered permanent, which is a strong and needed message in wake of these events.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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