Red Sox Fans Hurled Peanuts And Racial Slurs At The Orioles’ Adam Jones

The Boston Red Sox organization has a lot to be ashamed of after racist fans made for an ugly night at the ballpark. Baltimore Orioles outfielder Adam Jones explained he was taunted using racial slurs and got a bag of peanuts thrown at him during Monday night’s Red Sox/Orioles matchup in Boston.

It was a disappointing night all around at Fenway Park, where the Red Sox offense continued to struggle and then Red Sox fans turned back the clock in the worst way possible.

“A disrespectful fan threw a bag of peanuts at me,’’ Jones said, “I was called the N-word a handful of times tonight. Thanks. Pretty awesome.’’

Jones, one of just 62 African-Americans on opening-day rosters this year, said he has been subjected to racist hecklings in the past at Fenway Park, but said this was one of the worst experiences of his 12-year career.

Barely a month removed from Jones playing the role of American hero, he’s treated like a second-class citizen in one of America’s first cities. Jones was clearly vocal about the incident on Monday night, which quickly became the story over a somewhat sleepy 5-2 Orioles win. He said the peanuts were thrown his way in the dugout.

And while heckling outfielders is common across baseball, racial slurs clearly cross a line. Many Red Sox fans expressed their disappointment in the incident online, including noted Boston writers like Charles Pierce.

Jones himself was disappointed, calling it one of the worst experiences he’s had with racism in his career.

“It’s different,’’ he said. “Very unfortunate. I heard there was 59 or 60 ejections tonight in the ballpark. It is what it is, right. I just go out and play baseball. It’s unfortunate that people need report to those type of epithets to degrade another human being. I’m trying to make a living for myself and for my family.

“It’s unfortunate. The best thing about myself is that I continue to move on, and still play the game hard. Let people be who they are. Let them show their true colors.’’

The Red Sox worked to eject those involved and issued a formal apology to Jones early Tuesday morning, saying “no player should have an object thrown at him on the playing field, nor be subjected to any kind of racism at Fenway Park.”

All of that seems like common sense, which is why it’s troubling the incident happened and statements like this are necessary in 2017. The Red Sox made it clear they have “zero” tolerance for the kind of behavior fans exhibited Monday night, but they made no indication any policies will change for the rest of the series.

Jones expressed his frustration with the consequences for ugly incidents such as these, too. It’s a tough position to be in as an athlete that’s supposed to be focused on the task at hand. He said the punishment for the peanut-throwing and heckling should go past a simple ejection from the ballpark and called the heckling “pathetic.”

“It’s pathetic,’’ he said. “It’s called a coward. What they need to do is that instead of kicking them out of the stadium, they need to fine them 10 grand, 20 grand, 30 grand. Something that really hurts somebody. Make them pay in full. And if they don’t, take it out of their check.

“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.

The Orioles have three more games at Fenway this series, which wraps up Thursday night under the lights.