Boston mayor Marty Walsh refused to stay silent after hearing that Baltimore Orioles star Adam Jones was victimized by racist taunts in Monday's series opener against the Red Sox at Fenway Park, denouncing Tuesday morning the use of racial epithets anywhere in his city, including the team's beloved ballpark.
"This is unacceptable and not who we are as a city," Walsh told USA TODAY's Bob Nightengale. "These words and actions have no place in Fenway, Boston, or anywhere."
"We are better than this."
On Monday, in the Orioles' first game in Boston since last weekend's tense series at Camden Yards, Jones was "called the N-word a handful of times," he said after his club's 5-2 win, adding that one fan threw a bag of peanuts at him, too.
"It's pathetic," Jones said. "It's called a coward."
The mayor's sentiment was echoed by Red Sox president Sam Kennedy, who apologized to Jones and the Orioles organization in a statement Tuesday, adding that the team's "review of last night's events is ongoing." Kennedy later noted on WEEI that the Red Sox plan to meet with Jones, along with several of their own players.
"The Red Sox want to publicly apologize to Adam Jones and the entire Orioles organization for what occurred at Fenway Park Monday night," the statement reads. "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, who last year claimed he was subjected to racial epithets at Rogers Centre during the American League wild-card game against the Toronto Blue Jays, suggested Monday that in lieu of merely ejecting disrespectful fans from the stadium, anyone caught using racial slurs should be fined up to $30,000, or "something that really hurts somebody."
"Make them pay in full," Jones said. "And if they don't, take it out of their check."
He continued: "That's how you hurt somebody. You suspend them from the stadium, what does that mean? It's a slap on the wrist. That guy needs to be confronted, and he needs to pay for what he's done."
