Fenway Park Banner: 'Racism Is as American as Baseball'

A banner unfurled Wednesday by fans at Fenway Park read “Racism is as American as baseball” and led to four people being ejected from the stadium.

The banner appeared over the Green Monster during the fourth inning of Wednesday’s game between the Boston Red Sox and the Oakland Athletics. Within minutes, it was removed along with those who had unfurled it.

In a statement, the Red Sox said the banner violated a policy against hanging any kind of signs at the park.

An anonymous protester claiming to be one who hung the sign emailed a statement to news organizations saying, “We are a group of white anti-racist protesters. We want to remind everyone that just as baseball is fundamental to American culture and history, so too is racism,” The New York Times reported.

Another protester said anonymously, according to the NYT, that a racial taunting incident in May involving Baltimore Orioles outfielder Adam Jones was partly an inspiration for the banner. Jones got an extended ovation the night after the incident.

The anonymous protester also said his group was not connected to Antifa, a militant anti-fascist group that has been involved in violent clashes with white supremacists, police, and other groups, the Times reported.

The Red Sox lost the game against the A’s on Wednesday, 7-3, but remained three games ahead in the American League East.

Twitter users reacted sarcastically to the banner and the story.

That's right. Every little boy dreams of growing up to play pro baseball because the MLB is so good at promoting their core value of racism

— RP McMurphy (@blacklabelbob) September 14, 2017

Yeah, it totally makes sense that Cuban players defect to play for a racist organization.

— Sean Hennessey (@seanvhennessey) September 14, 2017

Denying historical context doesn't fix the problem.

— Chelsea Howard (@_ChelseaHoward) September 14, 2017

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