Rivalry weekend for a good cause
Kelly uses Evil Empire Weekend to raise money for Mission 108
PAWTUCKET — You can’t have “Evil Empire Weekend” at McCoy Stadium without a connection to everyone’s favorite Red Sox relief pitcher/pugilist.
Enter wife Ashley Kelly, who was clearly in the spirit of the theme for Saturday and Sunday’s Pawtucket-Scranton/Wilkes-Barre games. Several pieces of sports memorabilia received the silent auction treatment, and one of the items up for bid was a pair of boxing gloves signed by Joe Kelly himself.
“That was me being crazy,” Ashley Kelly said with a laugh.
Good humor aside, Ashley Kelly sprang into action upon hearing the PawSox’ plans to piggyback off last month’s onfield donnybrook at Fenway Park that landed her husband a special place in Boston sports lore as well as a six-game suspension. She reached out to general Pawtucket manager Dan Rea and got in touch with director of communications and community relations Joe Bradlee.
It didn’t take very long for the details to be ironed out for Ashley to come to McCoy on back-to-back days. She threw out the ceremonial first pitch on Sunday, sporting a Joe Kelly Fight Club t-shirt.
She also addressed the crowd, mentioning the popular shirt she was wearing was available for purchase behind Section 15 with the proceeds going towards Mission 108, the charity that’s the brainchild of former Red Sox pitcher Robbie Ross Jr. and wife Brittany. The charity focuses on human rights for the survivors of human trafficking.
Wallflowers, the Kellys are not. Give them a ton of credit for taking advantage of a tense situation and turning it into a positive. The PawSox Foundation donated $500, plus ticket proceeds through a fundraising link, to Mission 108.
“You’re never going to sit there and say fighting is great, but this is about joining the real fight, taking advantage of the situation, and rolling with it,” said Ashley, whose dad Derek Parks was a catcher with the Minnesota Twins from 1992-95. “It’s been so much fun because of that.”
Ashley Kelly accompanied Robbie and Brittany Ross on a trip to India last year. After seeing firsthand the problem areas that Mission 108 sought to bring to light and combat, Ashley knew she had to become actively involved in the non-profit organization.
After Joe Kelly got into a dustup with New York’s Tyler Austin, Ashley believed the time was right to raise additional awareness about Mission 108. As fate would have it, the PawSox provided the perfect out-
let.
“We’re taking this whole fight and shining light on real fight,” said Ashley Kelly. “Knowing we have this platform and also not knowing how long it’s going to be there … there’s a window of opportunity and we’re taking it.”
Ashley Kelly cited her husband’s familiarity with Pawtucket – Joe appeared in 22 games with the PawSox between 2015-17 – as a prime reason to bring the Mission 108 fight to McCoy.
“This is roots with plenty of Red Sox fans,” she said.
As for her husband and how he’s taken a firm hold of his spike in popularity, Ashley said it’s simply a case of Joe being Joe.
“If you know Joe, he’s a high energy guy but he’s also very loose. He’s like a big kid,” said Ashley Kelly. “He’s gone through rough patches just like every player does, but just let it loose and be yourself. This is something he’s definitely embraced.”
For more information about Mission 108, visit www.mission108.com