Speaking out on issues not new for Jones
Oriole has lamented athletes not being taken seriously
Baltimore Orioles center fielder Adam Jones has dealt with racist remarks throughout his major league career.
But the five-time All-Star said Monday’s night game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park was “one of the worst” he has endured during his 12-year career.
Jones, one of 62 African Americans who were on opening-day rosters this year, also is one of the most outspoken players in baseball and doesn’t hesitate to discuss controversial social issues.
In an interview with USA TODAY Sports in September 2016, Jones was asked why baseball players didn’t publicly make their voices known if there was an issue they’d like to bring to the public’s attention.
“We already have two strikes against us, so you might as well not kick yourself out of the game,” Jones said. “In football, you can’t kick them out. You need those players. In baseball, they don’t need us.
“Baseball is a white man’s sport.”
Jones went on to say that even the athletes who do protest aren’t taken seriously.
“The outside world doesn’t really respect athletes, unless they talk about what they want them to talk about,” Jones said. “Society doesn’t think we deserve the right to have an opinion on social issues. We make a lot of money, so we just have to talk baseball, talk football. But most athletes, especially if you’re tenured in your sport, you’re educated on life and on more things than most people on the outside.”
A few weeks after that interview, Jones said he and Orioles left fielder Hyun Soo Kim had been taunted by fans in Toronto during the American League wild-card game. A beer can was thrown at Kim as he was making a catch.
Jones confirmed that he heard racial and ethnic slurs directed toward him and Kim, a native of South Korea. Yet Jones said he’s become almost numb at the slurs he hears from fans.
“I’ve heard that so much playing baseball,” he told USA TODAY Sports. “I don’t really care anymore. Call me what you want. ... I get it. That’s fine. But to put us in harm’s way, when all we’re doing is focusing on the game, that’s not part of baseball, not part of any sport.”
Jones, who usually provides colorful quotes and is a go-to guy among reporters, is engaging and even funny after games. After a win against the Boston Red Sox in April 2015, when asked how he liked playing at Fenway Park, he joked with TV hosts about the way he was treated during the game.
“I don’t mind this park at all,” he said. “I was getting cussed out all day. I need to call my mom — apparently, she’s in Bos- ton from a few fans’ comments. I didn’t know. I would love to have dinner with her. But I do enjoy playing here. It’s a great atmosphere for baseball. The fans are into the game.”