Red Sox apologize for racist taunts

Orioles’ Jones said fans also threw peanuts at him.

Boston Red Sox President Sam Kennedy apologized to Baltimore Orioles center fielder Adam Jones on Tuesday after fans at Fenway Park taunted him with racial slurs.

Jones said someone also threw peanuts at him during Monday night’s game. Kennedy said the organization is “sickened by the conduct of an ignorant few.”

Jones, who is black, said he was “called the N-word a handful of times” in quotes reported by USA Today Sports and The Boston Globe.

“It’s unfortunate that people need to resort to those type of epithets to degrade another human being,” Jones said.

Red Sox spokesman Kevin Gregg said 34 fans were ejected from Monday’s game. He said one fan was ejected for using “foul language” toward a player on the field, but it is unknown if that was directed at Jones. The fan that hurled the peanuts also was ejected. Gregg didn’t specify why the other fans were ejected.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker called the incident “outrageous and disgraceful.”

“I’m glad they kicked the guy out and I hope they never let him back in ever again. There’s no place in Massachusetts, there’s no place in Boston, there’s no play anywhere for that kind of behavior,” the Republican told reporters.

Baker said he didn’t know the exact details of the incident, but added: “if you throw something at a player on the field and you hit them, that’s a crime and you can charge somebody for that.”

Boston Police Commissioner William Evans told reporters that police were working with Fenway security officials to find out what happened and if a criminal complaint is warranted.

“From what I understand is that they weren’t made aware of it until an hour after the game when the player made the allegation,” Evans said.

“I don’t think security at the time were aware why this individual, if it was this individual, was even escorted out.”

Police Lt. Mike McCarthy said later that a fan threw a bag of peanuts at the Orioles’ dugout — not at Jones — and hit a police officer posted nearby, not the center fielder.

Jones, a five-time All-Star, said he has been the subject of racist heckling in Boston’s ballpark before, but this was one of the worst cases of fan abuse he has heard in his 12-year career, according to USA Today Sports. teams have a minimum of five days to prepare for their next games.

Hawkins added that “routine is routine” and said he and his coaching staff will make the necessary adjustments for the postseason.

“Traditionally after Thanksgiving, I like to play playoff games on Saturday,” Hawkins said. “The only thing that takes a little stress off of us is that the other team has to do the same thing . ... If I have the opportunity to play in the state championship game, I don’t care when they tell me to play or where.”

In another change, the UIL will set kickoff times for 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. for all the 11-man tripleheaders. In previous years, the games were scheduled for noon, 4 and 8, which often led to the third game ending late at night because earlier games ran long.

Last season, Thorndale and Thrall earned berths in the Class 2A, Division I playoffs, but the Bulldogs lost in the bi-district round and the Tigers fell in an area-round matchup.

Lake Travis was the lone Austin-area team to win a state championship last year, capturing the Class 6A, Division I title.