Red Sox Owner John Henry and President Sam Kennedy met with Orioles CF Adam Jones prior to last night's game at Fenway Park, and Jones said Henry told him the Red Sox are "in the process" of revoking tickets from fans should another player be subjected to the racial taunts Jones dealt with Monday, according to Matt Pepin of the BOSTON GLOBE. Jones, who was given a standing ovation last night prior to his first at bat, said, "I know tickets here are generally very sacred and passed down to generations and so it’s hard to get. So stripping people of their right to come to the ballpark, and that would suck because this is one of the greatest venues to watch a sporting event" (BOSTON GLOBE, 5/3). Kennedy said, "If we hear something like that, we need to take action, we need to jump into action quickly. So we want (fans') help identifying those people and ejecting them and maybe taking it a step further, whether it’s revoking season tickets, if we can track down that information and prove exactly what happened. Maybe banning people from the ballpark. We need to take this seriously as an industry, as an organization.” Jones on Monday night suggested fining fans who use racial slurs, and Kennedy said something like that is "probably in the hands of the police." However, he said, "When it come to the clubs, we certainly control the license associated with the ticket. We can enforce ejection, of course, and deny readmittance to a ballpark. That step we can take and we should take" ("MLB Now," MLB Network, 5/2).
SOMETHING NEEDS TO HAPPEN: In DC, Dave Sheinin writes the Red Sox and league officials "need to make it clear -- with something more than words -- that the type of behavior Jones received on Monday night can never be tolerated" (WASHINGTON POST, 5/3). ESPN.com's Buster Olney wrote MLB's 30 clubs "could declare war on the kind of language that was directed" at Jones. Olney: "If you say that stuff, you will be ejected. And everybody will know it" (ESPN.com, 5/3). CBS Sports Network's Adam Schein: "Do something. Find the person or the people who said it and make sure they never enter Fenway Park or any stadium in Major League Baseball ever again. It's sickening and disturbing that this is happening in 2017" ("Time To Schein," CBSSN, 5/2). MLB Net's Kevin Millar said whoever uttered the slurs Monday "should never be allowed back at Fenway Park, period. ... There's no tolerance." Millar: "When something like this goes on and you're sitting in the stands and you hear this kind of stuff, maybe it's time for us to address it. Maybe there's not security around every spot at the stadium. But if you hear this as another fan, maybe it's time for us to start addressing this" ("Intentional Talk," MLB Network, 5/2). ESPN's Bob Ley noted there is "not a heck of a lot baseball can do" concerning fan language, though it "can implore fans to turn in other fans when they see idiocy such as this" ("OTL," ESPN, 5/2).
TIME TO GO ABOVE AND BEYOND: USA TODAY's Nancy Armour writes the Red Sox and MLB should "announce that they will take the lead on community forums to address racism and educational programs that will help people recognize prejudice and discrimination and eliminate it" (USA TODAY, 5/3). SPORTS ON EARTH's Will Leitch wrote the Jones incident is "another reason for the league to continue doubling down on its African-American outreach efforts" (SPORTSONEARTH.com, 5/2).
