Racial insults hurled by a couple of Red Sox fans at a black player from an opposing team on Monday resurrected questions about racism in the city.
But almost every fan in the bleachers at Fenway Park Tuesday night – and plenty of the Red Sox players – tried to make it up to Oriole Adam Jones with a standing ovation as he went to his first at-bat in the first inning.
Adam Jones was given a standing ovation before his first at bat on Tuesday at Fenway. ??? pic.twitter.com/LsGr71JzYz
— TotalProSports (@TotalProSports) May 3, 2017
Jones said someone in the stands threw a bag of peanuts at him Monday night and yelled racial slurs at him from the bleachers near center field.
A fan was ejected from the game for throwing the peanuts. But it remains unknown if just one or multiple fans had yelled racial slurs, sparking concerns over Boston’s reputation as “the most racist city in America,” as Michael Che put it.
Team owner John Henry and team president Sam Kennedy met with Jones to apologize for the incident and promised to beef up security in the bleachers.
Jones told the New York Times the ovation was “much appreciated,” but added, “I don’t want no love and support. I don’t need all that stuff. Just be normal.”
