Rob Manfred has been made aware of what took place at Fenway Park Monday night with fans hurling objects and racial slurs at Adam Jones, and the commissioner of Major League Baseball is not going to stand for it.
On Tuesday, Manfred released a statement condemning the behavior of select Boston Red Sox fans as “unacceptable.”
“The racist words and actions directed at Adam Jones at Fenway Park last night are completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated at any of our ballparks,” Manfred said, via CBS Boston. “My office has been in contact with the Red Sox, and the club has made it clear that they will not tolerate this inexcusable behavior. Our 30 Clubs will continue to work with fans and security to provide a family-friendly environment. Any individual who behaves in such offensive fashion will be immediately removed from the ballpark and subject to further action.
“The behavior of these few ignorant individuals does not reflect the millions of great baseball fans who attend our games.”
The Red Sox said 34 fans were ejected from the ballpark on Monday, with one being the fan who threw peanuts at Jones. There are typically half as many ejections on a normal night.
In an interview with WBZ NewsRadio 1030, Boston mayor Marty Walsh apologized on behalf of the city.
“I’m upset about this,” Walsh said. “Certainly we don’t condone this type of behavior. The City of Boston, the Red Sox organization doesn’t condone this type of behavior. It’s an unfortunate incident, and it should not reflect the city, who we are as Boston.”
The Red Sox also released a statement of their own (read it here), so it does not appear this is being treated as a minor fan incident.
Jones told a reporter after Baltimore’s 5-2 win that he was called the N-word a “handful of times” and said it was one of the worst cases of fan abuse he has ever endured. He also called for Major League Baseball to find a more severe way to punish fans. You can read his full comments here.
