The exterior of Fenway Park now features a massive Black Lives Matter banner along Lansdowne Street behind the Green Monster. The Boston Red Sox, who shared a photo of the banner a couple of days before the start of the abbreviated 2020 MLB season, appear to be taking the next step in their push against racism.
And they might have to push a little harder than other teams.
MORE: Red Sox admit racism in Boston is a problem
The Red Sox in June released a statement that acknowledged a history of racial slurs aimed at both Black players and Black employees at Fenway Park, and that the injustices are "a reflection of larger systemic issues." Some of those issues are evident in the comments below the tweet in which the Red Sox shared the photo of the new Black Lives Matter banner.
#BLACKLIVESMATTER pic.twitter.com/bnHZuyo6Qs
— Red Sox (@RedSox) July 23, 2020
"Just f—ing play baseball." ... "Keep social statements out of the game." ... "Sports used to be my happy place. You just screwed that up!" ... "All lives matter!!!"
Digest the anti-Black Lives Matter comments with a grain of salt, because there's no telling how many commentators are burner accounts or trolls and how many are real people who actually have issues with the movement.
Fair or not, Boston carries a reputation of being unwelcoming to Black people. The Red Sox were the last MLB team to sign a black player, integrating 12 years after the Brooklyn Dodgers signed Jackie Robinson. In 2018, they won a bid to change the name of Yawkey Way outside of Fenway to Jersey Street in an effort to distance themselves from the racist management of former team owner Tom Yawkey.
This is real. pic.twitter.com/gMp8MEPb46
— Red Sox (@RedSox) June 10, 2020
Contributing: Dan Bernstein