During last week’s Red Sox- Athletics game at Fenway Park in Boston, four white fans held a banner that read “Racism is just as American as baseball” over the historic Green Monster left field wall in response to allegations made by Orioles outfielder, Adam Jones who claimed that fans in Boston were racist.
He claimed that someone threw a bag of peanuts at him and called him the N- word amongst other racially-motivated slurs during a game this past Spring. The fans were immediately removed from the game for “affixing banners or signs to the ballpark” according to Red Sox personnel.
The banner was not up for long as umpires and ballpark security took note and were quick to seize it. A source close to the group that held the banner told news outlets that there were originally eight people in the group who planned the demonstration. The source also claimed that the reason behind the banner was to “start a conversation” about racism in baseball and America. Apparently, they did not know that the conversation had already started long before they decided to disrupt the Red Sox game last week. The banner’s poorly constructed message was misinterpreted by some to advocate that racism was a good thing but this was denied by the group who acknowledged that they “should’ve seen that coming.”
When the incident of racism was alleged by Adam Jones on May 1st in the Red Sox’ 5-2 Loss to the Orioles, Fenway fans responded very apologetically and gave Jones a standing ovation to show their appreciation in the second game of the series the next day. It seemed that bridges had been mended and the crowd showed that they were sorry that the actions of one or a few had reflected so badly on Boston sports fans and the Red Sox organization as a whole. The Red Sox themselves made a concerted effort the fix the issues. Owner, John Henry and President, Sam Kennedy met with Jones and extended their apologies, thanked the player for speaking out and promised to beef up security in an effort to prevent further issues among the crowds. When Jones tried to play down the issue, John Henry cut him off and declared that it “shouldn’t come with the territory” and encouraged Jones to continue to speak out against other immoral actions perpetrated against him.
The incident seemed to be isolated and not an indicator of wider racial prejudice within the sport of baseball and many leaders in baseball were quick to condemn discrimination and unacceptable behavior in Major League ballparks. The fans who unfurled the banner clearly believed that they had good intentions but instead misunderstand the sport. Baseball is incredibly comparable to the country of America as a whole. It has an incredibly ugly past, one it should not be proud of. It has a past full of exclusion and discrimination that paralleled the rest of the nation until in 1947 Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in the sport and lead the way for all people to play professional baseball in the Major Leagues.
Since then, baseball has spread around the globe and made its way into dozens of other countries. America’s pastime has found its way into the minds and hearts of people around the world as a result of increased change and improvement by including other races and cultures. Baseball has reached people in Asia, Europe, Latin America, Africa and other pockets of the world where it has gained a foothold. Major League Baseball boasts a diverse array of players ranging from players of African descent like Gift Ngoepe from South Africa who plays for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Ichiro Suzuki from Japan, Francisco Cervelli from South America among others from various regions of the world. Baseball is as diverse as its parent nation where ethnic, regional, and economic differences bring a strong mix of talent, hard work and a desire to win together in order to put on a show for fans around the world. Baseball is not a place for racism or any kind of discrimination.
One isolated incident should not have triggered the response that it did. Red Sox legend David “Big Papi” Ortiz said in response to the banner “You don’t wanna add more sh*t to the sh*t that is already out there.”
Baseball is no place for political stances. It is a game meant to be a distraction from turmoil in the country and around the world. Baseball is a place where we can come together aside from political differences and cheer for one team or another with other people. If racism was a bigger problem in the sport or if everyone in the baseball community failed to condemn the behavior of racist fans, then some sort of action should be taken. The MLB and the Red Sox among others have responded in the right ways to prevent further misbehavior or mistreatment of players and fans.
Racism is not as American as baseball. Baseball is America’s pastime and racism is something we as a nation are trying to push past. Though it still exists in some ways, the majority of America abhors acts of racism or discrimination. No one should have to endure it but the actions of a small subset of fans do not represent the country as a whole or the culture of baseball. The protest nearly one week ago was unwarranted and disrupted the flow of the game which is a rallying point for people not a place to condescendingly “start a conversation” because you think you are smarter than the average American.
