The Boston Red Sox heard what former MLB player Torii Hunter had to say about racist incidents at Red Sox games in particular and said they are “real.” The team went to Twitter to talk about the incidents that happened last year and implied there could have been more. The Red Sox also said they are committed to doing better down the road.
“If you doubt [Hunter] because you never heard it yourself, take it from us, it happens,” the Rex Sox said in a statement. “Last year there were seven reported incidents at Fenway Park where fans used racial slurs. Those are just the ones we know about. And it’s not only players. It happens to the dedicated black employees who work for us on game days. Their uniforms may be different, but their voices are experiences are just as important.”
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The Red Sox continued: “We are grateful to everyone who has spoken up and [we] remain committed to using our platform to amplify the many voices who are calling out injustice. There are well-established consequences for fans who use racial slurs and hate speech in our venue, and we know we have more work to do. This small group of fans does not represent who we are, but are rather a reflection of larger systemic issues that as an organization we need to address.”
Hunter was on WEEI’s The Greg Hill Show and said he never wanted to play for the Red Sox because of the racist incidents that have happened to him at Fenway Park. He said: “After a while, I just kind of shoved it off and I went out and played. I played with aggression though. I played like I really wanted to play well in Fenway. It has nothing to do with the Red Sox. It has nothing to do with the players. It has nothing to do with the organization. It really has nothing to do with the fans. But that’s the issue when you hear that.”
This isn’t the first time a Black baseball player has spoken out about racial incidents at Fenway Park. In 2017, Adam Jones, who was with the Baltimore Orioles at the time, said he heard racists comments and revealed a fan threw a bag of peanuts at him.
