The Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles recognized the nation’s social justice movement ahead of their opening game at Fenway Park on Friday night.
Players wore Black Lives Matter jerseys and a Major League Baseball-issued Black Lives Matter sign spread across the stands in center field.
Players from both teams knelt while holding a black ribbon in a moment of unity before the game. During the national anthem, Red Sox outfielders Jackie Bradley Jr. and Alex Verdugo continued to kneel and were joined by third base coach Carlos Febles and first base coach Tom Goodwin. The Orioles players stood with their arms joined.
“It felt good,” said Bradley. “It felt like a release to be able to do that.”
There was also a moment of silence in honor of those who died during the coronavirus pandemic and for medical workers.
As in other Opening Day games around the big leagues, spectators were not allowed inside the legendary Boston park on Friday. But there were cardboard cutouts of Red Sox fans placed on the seats above the Green Monster to serve as virtual witnesses to the franchise’s version of the league’s new normal.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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