Wednesday night's game between the Boston Red Sox and the Oakland Athletics was notable not for the events on the field (the A's won 7-3), but rather for what was going on in the stands.
During the fourth inning, fans who somehow (seriously, how?) managed to sneak in a giant banner hung it over the ballpark's famous Green Monster.
The banner read "Racism Is as American as Baseball." Exactly what that means, the daring banner unfurlers never got a chance to say, as they were quickly escorted out. However, one of them informed Red Sox security that they took inspiration from the Black Lives Matter movement.
The Red Sox issued a statement:
"During the 4th inning of tonight's game, four fans unfurled a banner over the left field wall in violation of the club's policy prohibiting signs of any kind to be hung or affixed to the ballpark. The individuals involved were escorted out of Fenway Park."
This is far from the first encounter with racial issues at Fenway. This past spring, the Baltimore Orioles' Adam Jones claimed that Red Sox fans yelled racial slurs and that one person threw a bag of peanuts at him.
"I just go out and play baseball," he said at the time. "It’s unfortunate that people need to resort to those type of epithets to degrade another human being."
After the incident with Jones, other ballplayers, including the Yankees' C.C. Sabathia, related their own experiences dealing with racism at the park. "When you go to Boston, expect it," Sabathia said.
