Banner causes stir at Fenway

Racism has once again become a topic of discussion at Fenway Park.

Fans at Wednesday’s Red Sox-Athletics game in Boston decided to unfurl a controversial banner that read “Racism is as American as baseball,” prompting the umpires to ask security to remove the fans and their banner, according to a statement from the Sox.

According to Comcast SportsNet New England, the banner-wielding fans were conveying an anti-racism message and wanted to raise awareness in a ballpark that has been under the microscope recently.

“There were originally about eight people involved who had this idea, and those eight people come from various organizing groups in the Boston area,” one of the ejected fans told CSNNE. “Mostly groups that affiliate with racial justice causes. And the banner came in response to the racist comments at the beginning of the season at Fenway (that Adam Jones spoke of).”

Back in May, Orioles outfielder Adam Jones had peanuts thrown at him, and was called the N-word on multiple occasions.

“But overall, we saw, we see Boston continually priding itself as a kind of liberal, not racist city, and are reminded also constantly that it’s actually an extremely segregated city. It has been for a long time, and that no white people can avoid the history of racism, essentially,” the sign-bearer said. —Staff report