Green Monster draped with 'Racism is as American as baseball' sign

A sign reading "Racism is as American as baseball" was briefly draped over the Green Monster at Fenway Park on Wednesday night as the Boston Red Sox played host to the Oakland Athletics.

Unfurled in the top of the fourth inning, the banner was confiscated by security personnel after a few minutes, according to Evan Drellich of WEEI, and the four fans responsible for the sign were escorted out of the ballpark. None of them were arrested, however, or banned from the stadium, reports Tim Britton of the Providence Journal, who noted that one of them mentioned being inspired by Black Lives Matter.

In a statement, a Red Sox spokeswoman explained that the fans were escorted from Fenway Park after hanging a banner "in violation of the club’s policy prohibiting signs of any kind to be hung or affixed to the ballpark."

This marks the third time this season that racism has been a very public issue at Fenway Park. In May, the Red Sox and the mayor of Boston apologized to Baltimore Orioles center fielder Adam Jones after the five-time All-Star said he was "called the n-word a handful of times" during a game. Then, in August, Red Sox owner John Henry said he wanted to rename Yawkey Way, the street on which Fenway Park resides, due to longtime owner Tom Yawkey's history of racial discrimination.