It is a shame when you cannot go to a game or matter fact play in a game without people acting ignorant. This was the case on Monday night between the Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.
During the game, Baltimore Orioles All-Star center fielder Adam Jones was harassed by some Boston fans as they hurled racial remarks and a bag of peanuts toward him.
According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, Jones described the incident at Fenway as being one of the worst cases of fan abuse he has faced in his 12-year career.
“A disrespectful fan threw a bag of peanuts at me,’’ Jones said, “I was called the N-word a handful of times tonight. Thanks. Pretty awesome.’’
This is not the first time we have heard of fans throwing food items at African-American players. Just six years ago, a hockey fan during a preseason game in London, Ontario threw a banana at Philadelphia Flyers winger Wayne Simmonds.
After the game, Simmons said that he hoped the incident wasn’t because he was black, but that you also have to expect those things.
“I don’t know if it had anything to do with the fact I’m black,” Simmonds said. “I certainly hope not. When you’re black, you kind of expect (racist) things. You learn to deal with it.”
Jones elaborated more on the situation, stating that he has experienced racial remarks thrown at him before at Fenway, but not like what happened on Monday night.
“It’s different,’’ Jones said. “Very unfortunate. I heard there was 59 or 60 ejections tonight in the ballpark. It is what it is, right. I just go out and play baseball. It’s unfortunate that people need report to those type of epithets to degrade another human being. 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.’’
Thankfully, we still have players in sports like Jones and Simmonds, who will not stoop down to the level of ignorance that some fans may show. It is disgusting to see this type of behavior happening on the baseball field, ice rink, or wherever.
Booing a player is one thing, but shouting racial epithets such as the N-word is another thing. According to USA Today, Red Sox officials confirmed to them that the fan, who threw the peanuts was ejected from the game.
Hopefully, this type of behavior stops as no human being should be harassed because of the skin of their color, religion, etc.
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