BOSTON — Boston Red Sox president Sam Kennedy personally apologized to Baltimore Orioles center fielder Adam Jones after fans at Fenway Park taunted him with racial slurs.
Kennedy apologized Tuesday
after Jones said someone also threw peanuts at him during a game Monday. Kennedy said the organization is ‘‘sickened by the conduct of an ignorant few.’’
Jones, who is black, said he was ‘‘called the N-word a handful of times’’ in quotes reported by USA Today and the Boston Globe.
‘‘It’s unfortunate that people need to resort to those type of epithets to degrade another human being,’’ said Jones, who received a standing ovation before his first
at-bat Tuesday.
Red Sox spokesman Kevin Gregg said 34 fans were ejected from the game Monday. He said one fan was ejected for using foul language
toward a player on the field, but it is unknown whether it was directed at Jones. The fan who hurled the peanuts also was ejected.
‘‘The racist words and actions directed at Adam Jones at Fenway Park are completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated at any of our ballparks,’’ MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. ‘‘My office has been in contact with the Red Sox, and the club has made it clear that they will not tolerate this inexcusable behavior.’’
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker called the incident ‘‘outrageous and disgraceful.’’
‘‘I’m glad they kicked the guy out, and I hope they never let him back in ever again,’’ Baker said. ‘‘There’s no place in Massachusetts, there’s no place in Boston, there’s no place anywhere for that kind of behavior.’’
Baker said he didn’t know the exact details of the incident, but he added: ‘‘If you throw something at a player on the field and you hit them, that’s a crime and you can charge somebody for that.’’
Police commissioner William Evans told reporters the department was working with Fenway security officials to find out what happened and whether a criminal complaint is warranted.
Jones said he had been the subject of racist heckling at Fenway before, but he called this one of the worst cases of fan abuse he has heard in his 12-year career.
‘‘What they need to do is . . . fine them 10 grand, 20 grand, 30 grand — something that really hurts somebody,’’ he said.
