After helping beat the Red Sox 5-2 at Fenway Park in Boston on Monday night (May 1), Orioles’ centerfielder Adam Jones wanted nothing more than to discuss the politics outside of baseball. “A disrespectful fan threw a bag of peanuts at me,” said Jones to USA Today. “I was called the N-word a handful of times tonight. Thanks. Pretty awesome.”
The kicker? This isn’t the first time the San Diego native is berated with racial slurs at the Boston stadium. It is, however, one the worst examples since he started playing ball 12 years ago.
“It’s different. Very unfortunate,” he said. “I heard there was 59 or 60 ejections tonight in the ballpark. It is what it is, right. I just go out and play baseball. It’s unfortunate that people need to resort to those type of epithets to degrade another human being. I’m trying to make a living for myself and my family. It’s unfortunate. The best thing about myself is that I continue to move on and still play the game hard. Let people be who they are. Let them show their true colors.”
Somebody just threw something at Adam Jones as he was walking down into the dugout. Security searching for culprit. pic.twitter.com/aNiQ9pchqX
— Avi Miller (@AviMiIIer) May 2, 2017
Although the fan was immediately ejected from Fenway Park after throwing peanuts at the MLB veteran, Jones is adamant in suggesting officials implement harsher repercussions for abhorrent acts such as these.
“What they need to do is that instead of kicking them out of the stadium, they need to fine them 10 grand, 20 grand, 30 grand,” he said. “Something that really hurts somebody. Make them pay in full. And if they don’t, take it out of their check. That’s how you hurt somebody. You suspend them from the stadium, what does that mean? It’s a slap on the wrist. That guy needs to be confronted, and he needs to pay for what he’s done. At the end of the day, when you throw an object onto the field of play, the player has no idea what it is. What if something hit me right in the eye and I can’t play baseball anymore? Then what?”
Advancing to 16-8 on the season, the Orioles are scheduled to spend the next three days in Boston to run the remainder of a four-game series with the Red Sox.
Read full report here.