Harry How
Adam Jones, an All-Star center fielder for the Baltimore Orioles, said he was taunted with racial slurs and had peanuts thrown at him Monday night at Boston’s Fenway Park. Jones, who is one of only about 60 black players on Major League Baseball rosters this year, said Red Sox fans in the crowd yelled obscenities at him and threw food. “A disrespectful fan threw a bag of peanuts at me,’’ Jones said, “I was called the N-word a handful of times.’’ Jones added that the night was among the worst experiences on the field in his career, despite having dealt with racist and heckling fans before. “It is what it is, right,’’ he continued. “I just go out and play baseball. It’s unfortunate that people need to resort to those type of epithets to degrade another human being. I’m trying to make a living for myself and for my family.” In a statement, the Red Sox organization apologized to Jones. “No player should have an object thrown at him on the playing field, nor be subjected to any kind of racism at Fenway Park,” team president Sam Kennedy said, adding that an investigation into exactly what happened is “ongoing.” Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said fans’ behavior was “unacceptable & shameful. This is not what Massachusetts & Boston are about.”