The Boston Red Sox unveiled a massive Black Lives Matter card Wednesday. The 250-foot billboard is adjacent to Fenway Park and faces the Massachusetts Turnpike. The large poster features the words “Black Lives Matter” in the Red Sox font on a black background with the team logo at the end.
The #RedSox have placed a #BlackLivesMatter billboard next to Fenway Park along Mass Pike … https://t.co/ZQ5llOeWUU
– WBZ | CBS Boston News (@WBZ | CBS Boston News) 1595434314.0
#BLACKLIVESMATTER https://t.co/bnHZuyo6Qs
– Red Sox (@Red Sox) 1595467208.0
The billboard includes the URL of the Red Sox Foundation website for more information. On the site, Red Sox president and CEO Sam Kennedy released a statement titled “Social Justice, Equity and Inclusion” regarding recent cases of police brutality that sparked protests across the country.
“I have been struggling to find the right words to express the deep anguish, outrage, and confusion that we all feel in the wake of the heartbreaking incidents that occurred across the country in recent months,” Kennedy wrote. “The senseless murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor are a clear reminder that racism and police brutality are still widespread in the United States.”
“Please know that we are with you,” Kennedy said of the Red Sox staff who have been involved in social justice protests. “Silence in the face of injustice is unacceptable. Thank you for your mutual support during these difficult times. Our work continues.”
The Red Sox Foundation website includes links to various social justice and advocacy sites, including Black Lives Matter, the George Floyd Memorial Fund, the Anti-Racism Center, and various bond fund donation sites that have become popular during the protests. at the national level.
The Boston Red Sox were the last Major League Baseball team to integrate and have a black player on the list. More than 12 years after Jackie Robinson broke the MLB color barrier and joined the Brooklyn Dodgers, the Red Sox signed Elijah “Pumpsie” Green, who made his debut on July 21, 1959.
The Black Lives Matter undercard was unveiled a day after the 61st anniversary of Green making his debut as the first black player for the Red Sox.
Last month, the Red Sox spelled “Black Lives Matter” on the Green Monster scoreboard at Fenway Park. The team’s official Twitter account tweeted a photo of the scoreboard with the caption: “Our anger and pain must be translated into action. We have a responsibility to use our platform to amplify messages of truth and justice.”
The Red Sox post included a retweet of a tribute to George Floyd from the official Black Lives Matter Twitter account.
Our anger and pain must be translated into action. We have the responsibility to use our platform to amplify messages from t… https://t.co/nHvw2wIgZm
– Red Sox (@Red Sox) 1591108047.0
Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke said Boston players are free to voice any message or gesture of social justice during the upcoming season.
“We haven’t told the players that you have to do anything,” Roenicke said Tuesday. “We have given them the rights, which is what this country is all about and the freedom to do what they firmly feel. So we have said what we think and what we would like them to do, but we also want to give them the opportunity to express themselves “
“We all support what the fight is about, so I think by making sure they know how we feel and if it’s [owner] Juan [Henry] and [chairman] Tom [Werner] or [president/CEO] Sam [Kennedy] or [chief baseball officer] Chaim [Bloom], they have all said the same thing, that we are supporting the BLM, “added Roenicke.
The MLB season will kick off on Thursday, with two games slated for Opening Day, which had originally been scheduled for March 26 before the coronavirus pandemic delayed the season. The Red Sox open the season against the Baltimore Orioles on Friday at Fenway Park.
The abbreviated MLB 2020 season will have just 60 games in 66 days. The games will be televised, but there will be no fans due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
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