The Boston Red Sox are apologizing to Adam Jones and the Baltimore Orioles after the center fielder experienced something no one should be subjected to Monday night at Fenway Park.
After the Orioles’ 5-2 win over the Red Sox, Baltimore manager Buck Showalter described how Monday night’s cold, wet weather made the game hard to play, but he added that people in the crowd were throwing bags of peanuts, too. Jones said he was the target of the projectile, which was thrown into the visitors’ dugout, but he revealed that his experience was a lot worse.
“A disrespectful fan threw a bag of peanuts at me,” Jones told USA TODAY’s Bob Nightengale. “I was called the N-word a handful of times tonight. Thanks. Pretty awesome.”
“It’s unfortunate that people need (to resort) to those types of epithets to degrade another human being,” Jones added. “I’m trying to make a living for myself and for my family. … It’s unfortunate. The best thing about myself is that I continue to move on and still play the game hard. Let people be who they are. Let them show their true colors.”
The Red Sox condemned Monday night’s incident in a statement made by president Sam Kennedy on Tuesday morning.
“The Red Sox want to publicly apologize to Adam Jones and the entire Orioles organization for what occurred at Fenway Park Monday night,” Kennedy said in the team-issued statement. “No player should have an object thrown at him on the playing field, nor be subjected to any kind of racism at Fenway Park. 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.”
Jones said he heard there were around 60 ejections at Fenway, but that number hasn’t been confirmed by the Red Sox or Fenway Park security. The Red Sox and Orioles are scheduled to play the second game of their series Tuesday at 7:10 p.m. ET.
Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images
