Boston Red Sox Post Black Lives Matter Billboard Outside Fenway Park

The Boston Red Sox just showed their support for the Black Lives Matter movement in a very big way. On Wednesday, a billboard was posted by the team alongside the Massachusetts Turnpike by Fenway Park that had the phrase “Black Lives Matter” written in baseball font. Red Sox spokeswoman Zineb Curran spoke to CNN about the billboard and explained why they made the move.

“Recognizing that we have work to do ourselves, we wanted to show that we stand with those who are working to achieve racial equity,” she said in a statement. Curran also said the billboard is operated by the Red Sox Foundation, and they plan to “feature the Black Lives Matter movement throughout the baseball season as a way to amplify the voices of those who share our values, but may not share our platform.” As for the Red Sox players and coaches, they haven’t spoken publicly about the billboard, but manager Ron Roenicke said he supports players who want to kneel during the national anthem in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

“We’re all supportive of what the fight is about and so I think that by making sure that they know how we feel and whether it’s [owner] John [Henry] and [chairman] Tom [Werner] or [president/CEO] Sam [Kennedy] or [chief baseball officer] Chaim [Bloom], they’ve all said the same thing, that we’re supporting the BLM,” Roenicke said. Back in June, the Red Sox revealed they have had to deal with racist incidents at games in the past. This was in response to former MLB player Torii Hunter experiencing it firsthand while playing games at Fenway Park.

“Last year there were seven reported incidents at Fenway Park where fans used racial slurs,” the team said in a statement. “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.” There have been a few MLB teams to show support for the Black Lives Matter movement. On Thursday night, the New York Yankees and Washington Nationals kneeled before the national anthem during MLB Opening Day.