Pic of the Week

Adam Jones of the Baltimore Orioles gets an ovation
from the Boston crowd on Tuesday, the day after the
outfielder was subjected to racial slurs.

You either

• already know the Adam Jones-racist fans story or
• don't care about it.

So I won't spend my time or yours trying to recap it here.

I just have one thought to share. After Jones made his complaint public, and other African American players chimed in with their stories, the ownership of the Red Sox met with their black players, who told them: Yeah, it happens to us here too.

It seems to have taken the Red Sox management by surprise, this notion that their beloved Fenway Park harbors vocally racist fans. Presumably the owners are cocooned in their suites and well-removed from the trolls of the grandstands, bleachers and box seats.

But as common as the slurs apparently are in the Fens, somebody in stadium ops had to know. At the very least the ushers knew. And at some level in the organization, somebody decided that this battle wasn't worth fighting. It might have been at the bottom of the pyramid, it might have been higher up the chain.

After Monday's embarrassment, the Sox ownership is engaged with this issue, so the underlings will be expected to respond accordingly. And it appears that the message is being heard in other stadiums.