New York Yankees pitcher C.C. Sabathia is saying it’s no surprise to any of the 62 Black players in the MLB what Baltimore Orioles outfielder Adam Jones experienced at Boston’s Fenway Park this week.
In fact, he went as far as reveling to Yankees beat writer Erik Boland that the Black players communicate very openly about the culture of racism that exists there:
Sabathia said he’s experienced what Adam Jones did in Boston, though not since he’s been with Yankees because their security presence in pen
— Erik Boland (@eboland11) May 2, 2017
Sabathia said in his big league career “I’ve never been called the N word” anywhere but in Boston
— Erik Boland (@eboland11) May 2, 2017
Sabathia said it’s talked about among black major leaguers: “we know. There’s 62 of us. We all know. When you go to Boston, expect it.”
— Erik Boland (@eboland11) May 2, 2017
Enough of the “this is 2017” talk. This country has a racism problem that has gone untreated since it’s inception. The very founding principals this country was built on enabled White people to treat non-white men as subhuman, and to date nowhere near enough has been done to rectify that huge mistake.
In this particular instance, we’re discussing racism seeping it’s way into sports, but in reality; sports is in no way any different from any other aspect of society.
The Red Sox should be ashamed of their fans, ashamed of their racist reputation, & be proactive in changing the narrative; not defensive.
Many Boston-area fans are scoffing their noses today at the national notion that their city’s sports culture has a bigoted history, and therein lies the problem. I’m sure every fan isn’t racist, but the ones that screamed “NIGGER!” loud enough for Adam Jones to hear it, & threw food at him on the field; felt comfortable enough to do it in front of everyone they were sitting around. This is a fact.
If you are one of those fans who sit next to obnoxious people screaming racist, ignorant, & offensive insults, and you don’t check or report them, you might as well be patting them on the back in agreement.
Boston fans, think about that.