BOSTON — Baltimore Orioles center fielder Adam Jones said he was taunted with racial slurs at Fenway Park during Baltimore’s game against the Boston Red Sox.
Jones, who is black, said someone in the crowd threw a bag of peanuts at him Monday night. He said he has been the subject of racist heckling in Boston’s ballpark before, but this was one of the worst cases of fan abuse he has heard in his 12-year career, according to USA Today Sports.
The five-time All-Star says he was “called the N-word a handful of times” in quotes reported by USA Today Sports and The Boston Globe.
USA Today Sports reported that Red Sox officials confirmed that a fan threw a bag of peanuts at Jones and was ejected from the stadium.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred released the following statement Tuesday:
Red Sox team president Sam Kennedy issued the following statement:
“The Red Sox want to publicly apologize to Adam Jones and the entire Orioles organization for what occurred at Fenway Park Monday night. No player should have an object thrown at him on the playing field, nor be subjected to any kind of racism at Fenway Park,” Kennedy said in a statement.
“The Red Sox have zero tolerance for such inexcusable behavior, and our entire organization and our fans are sickened by the conduct of an ignorant few. Such conduct should be reported immediately to Red Sox security, and any spectator behaving in this manner forfeits his/her right to remain in the ballpark, and may be subject to further action. Our review of last night’s events is ongoing.”
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said it’s “outrageous and disgraceful” that Orioles center fielder Adam Jones was taunted with racial slurs during a game against the Red Sox.
“I’m glad they kicked the guy out and I hope they never let him back in ever again. There’s no place in Massachusetts, there’s no place in Boston, there’s no play anywhere for that kind of behavior,” the Republican told reporters.
Boston Police Commissioner William Evans says police are working with Fenway Park security officials to find out what happened and if a criminal complaint is warranted.
“From what I understand is that they weren’t made aware of it until an hour after the game when the player made the allegation,” Evans said.
The AL East rivals this season, including a dustup in Baltimore just more than a week ago.
