Orioles Outfielder Adam Jones Claims Racist Taunts At Fenway Park
BOSTON (CBS/AP) — Orioles center fielder Adam Jones said he was taunted with racial slurs at Fenway Park during Baltimore's game against the Boston Red Sox.
Update: Red Sox Apologize To Adam Jones
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 said he was "called the N-word a handful of times" in quotes reported by USA Today Sports and The Boston Globe.
"It's unfortunate that people need to resort to those type of epithets to degrade another human being," Jones said.
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.
"It's pathetic," Jones said. "It's called a coward. What they need to do is that instead of kicking them out of the stadium, they need to fine them 10 grand, 20 grand, 30 grand. Something that really hurts somebody."
The Red Sox told WBZ-TV's Dan Roche there were 34 ejections at Fenway Monday night, one for the person who threw peanuts at Jones and one for language toward a player. There are normally 12-to-15 ejections per game at Fenway, according to the team.
Boston Mayor Walsh apologized on behalf of the city Tuesday morning.
"I'm upset about this," Walsh told WBZ NewsRadio 1030. "Certainly we don't condone this type of behavior. The City of Boston, the Red Sox organization doesn't condone this type of behavior. It's an unfortunate incident, and it should not reflect the city, who we are as Boston."
Governor Charlie Baker issued a statement on Twitter calling the incident "shameful."
The Boston Globe's Pete Abraham joined 98.5 The Sports Hub's Toucher & Rich on Tuesday morning to discuss Jones' claims, and says this is not an isolated incident.
"When you go back to what other players have said in the past, including their own players, this is not an isolated incident," said Abraham (listen to the full interview here). "The Red Sox need to get a hold of this and start throwing people out, having better security in the outfield. There is clearly some kind of problem in the bleachers or that area.
"It's 2017. This kind of thing can't be going on," he added.
The Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo discusses the incident with Zolak & Bertrand:
The Orioles' 5-2 victory marked the latest testy game between the AL East rivals this season, including a dustup in Baltimore just more than a week ago.
In the teams' previous meeting at Camden Yards, Boston reliever Matt Barnes sent a pitch that whizzed behind Manny Machado's head and hit the slugger's bat. Barnes was suspended four games and fined.
Machado had rankled the Red Sox with a late slide into second baseman Dustin Pedroia's left leg two days earlier. Pedroia missed a handful of games.
Orioles pitcher Dylan Bundy hit Mookie Betts near the left hip with a fastball Monday night, prompting loud boos.
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