Adam Jones Reaction: Red Sox Fans Give Oriole Standing Ovation

BOSTON, MA — Tuesday night at Fenway Park was the rare instance where the whole bunch overcame the few bad apples. Just 24 hours after Baltimore Orioles star outfielder Adam Jones said he was racially abused by Red Sox fans during a game, the park's patrons gave him a prolonged standing ovation.

Jones came to bat in the first inning. The crowd started to rustle as he was introduced, and Sox ace Chris Sale stepped off the mound to allow the applause to continue. In right field Boston outfielder Mookie Betts, himself one of the relative few black athletes in MLB, applauded.

All in all, it was about as well as the situation could have been handled after Monday's incidents dominated the national conversation Tuesday.

Jones said he was "called the 'N' word a handful of times" by fans and had a bag of peanuts thrown at him in the Fenway Park outfield.

“It’s unfortunate that people need to resort to those type of epithets to degrade another human being," Jones told reporters. "I’m out there trying to make a living for myself and my family. The best thing about myself is that I know how to move on and still play the game hard and let people be who they are and let them show their true colors."

Red Sox and government officials apologized on behalf of the team, fan base and region Tuesday morning. Team officials met with Jones Tuesday to discuss the situation and apologize.

"This is unacceptable and not who we are as a city,’’ Boston Mayor Martin Walsh said in a statement. “These words and actions have no place in Fenway, Boston, or anywhere. We are better than this.”

The president of the Boston chapter for the NAACP said the incident is a "shame on the city."

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“I’m just really sorry that Mr. Jones experienced what appears to be the worst of Boston last night,’’ said Tanisha Sullivan.

Jones is one of the most well-known black stars in the majors. ESPN said he was one of just 62 African-American players on an Opening Day roster this season.

Jones said he heard there were "50-60" ejections at Fenway Monday night. Red Sox President Sam Kennedy said there were 34 — 20 of which were alcohol-related, two for marijuana, one for throwing the peanuts, one for using profane language toward a player and others for fan fighting.

“It’s unfortunate," he said of the abuse. "Pathetic. What they need to do is instead of kicking people out of the stadium, they need to fine them 10 grand, 20 grand, 30 grand, and then make them pay in full and if they don’t, take it out of their check."

Boston's racist history has dominated much of the national conversation. The Red Sox were the last team in the majors to integrate.

Red Sox pitcher David Price indicated he was the victim of racial abuse while in the bullpen last season. Yankees pitcher C.C. Sabathia told news reporters Monday the only place in his career he had been called the N-word was Fenway Park.

Former Blue Jays outfielder Vernon Wells was among the ex-players talking about Fenway's negative perception.

The team apologized in a statement Tuesday morning.

The Red Sox want to publicly apologize to Adam Jones and the entire Orioles organization for what occurred at Fenway Park Monday night. No player should have an object thrown at him on the playing field, nor be subjected to any kind of racism at Fenway Park. The Red Sox have zero tolerance for such inexcusable behavior, and our entire organization and our fans are sickened by the conduct of an ignorant few. Such conduct should be reported immediately to Red Sox security, and any spectator behaving in this manner forfeits his/her right to remain in the ballpark, and may be subject to further action. Our review of last night’s events is ongoing.

Gov. Charlie Baker followed with an apology on behalf of the region.

Red Sox star Mookie Betts, himself black, tweeted in support of Jones.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said the Jones incident was "completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated in any of our ballparks."

Photo by Keith Allison via Flickr