As a white dad of a black 9-year-old boy, the increasing racial divide in this country both exhausts me and horrifies me. My single most important role in life is to protect my son. The fact that so many like Brasier exist within our society has been a mild shock to me over the past 5 years. The fact that so many feel it is OK to publicly express extreme and evil thoughts seemed so unlikely to me, until 5 years ago.
I have always been a proponent that all groups who are discriminated against need the support of the straight, white, male “majority”, in order to be accepted, treated with dignity, and be considered equally as valuable as the assholes who rule society. I have reached a point where I am ashamed to be a straight, white male.
I have been a lifelong Red Sox fan, assigned at birth. It has been a huge part of my identity. It may be DVR, but I watch almost every game. Fenway park has been a special place in my life since my earliest memories. I have read this site daily for almost 20 years, as a source of so much great info, including minor leagues and prospects.
This feels like the last straw for me. Not just Brasier. Pillar seems even worse to me, simply due to him having publicly been called out for his
Bigotry in the past. In may of 2017, Toronto suspended him for 2 games for using an anti-gay slur toward an opposing player. He apologized at the time, but that seems fairly empty in light of current statements.
The fact that a wealthy white male feels no need to “uplift” any particular subset of society shows his true colors. His demographic already has all the advantages and perks of being that of the ruling class.
I am sympathetic to the quandary the Red Sox face in terms of PR, but feel the only correct outcome is to have immediately released both of them. I cannot support them any longer unless stronger action is taken. This will hurt me more than it hurts Sox management, but if enough people force it, positive change can occur.
I remain hopeful for true and lasting changes in our society, and would love to see the Sox be part of that movement. On the other side, I am so proud to be an NBA fan right now, particularly a Celtics fan, and a huge Jaylen Brown fan. I talk with my Son often about Jaylen being a very good basketball player, and an even better human being.
Quoting myself here for context. I let this percolate for a while in my subconscious, and sent the following letter to the Red Sox this morning.
Dear Boston Red Sox,
I write this with hope of encouraging the entire organization to use its power, forum, financial position, and collective voice, to commit to being leaders and a force for social justice and true equality for all humans.
Some background on me - Being a Red Sox fan is one of my defining traits. It was assigned at birth by my Mom and Uncle, who immigrated from Europe as young children in the late 1930s. Their quickly-found love for the Sox was a huge part of their assimilation into becoming US residents and New Englanders. A move to NY in the 1960s meant my siblings and I grew up in the heart of Yankee territory. Our family was raised with stories of Ted Williams, Johnny Pesky, Dom DiMaggio, Bobby Doerr, and others. Frequent trips to Fenway Park are some of my most cherished and memorable childhood (and adult) moments. Like so many others, I have lived and died with each game, including all those years of not winning it all, so much heartbreak. In spite of the mocking of my NY Yankee fan friends and neighbors, I remained a truly loyal sox fan throughout the decades. The 2004 championship had an incredibly cathartic effect on me, far more than a non-Sox fan could ever understand. A huge moment in my life was my participation, with many family members, in Run to Home Base. The sad necessity to care for emotional wounds of so many soldiers made it an incredibly emotional experience for us all. The personal experience of finishing the run by emerging into Center Field and setting foot on the hallowed ground of Fenway Park was overwhelming. Following the LF warning track, touching the green monster, crossing home plate, soaking up so much history, conflicting emotions, memories, joys and sorrows, was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
The recent social media post by Ryan Brasier, and follow-up quotes from Kevin Pillar have caused me to reassess my support of the franchise. I believe strongly in freedom of speech and expression of personal views, but have no tolerance for hurtful and hateful behavior. I am not so naïve to think that all professional athletes share my beliefs regarding equality, and the injustices that so many humans face daily. However, I am not tolerant of a person in a public position mocking the pain suffered by so many of their fellow human beings.
I am extremely disappointed at the lukewarm response by the Red Sox. I am far from naïve in the ways of business, as well as competitive sports. That said, I believe the correct response would have been immediately release or DFA of both players. Pillar is equally wrong in his hurtful comments. After his signing, I recalled his anti-gay slurs from a few years back. As he was signed partially for “veteran leadership” I could only hope that was a one-off, and he had grown, evolved, and learned since them. Sadly, when someone shows you who they are, it is usually best to believe them.
These two quotes from Boston Globe article of 08/29/2020 seem perfunctory at best.
“You bring any group of this many people together, you’re bound to have people with different views and different thoughts,” said Bloom. “Peaceful protests are about changing minds. If we can’t look at progress that gets made towards a goal in a room of people with very different opinions — if we can’t look at that and see progress, then we’re undermining our own goals.”
“We don’t demand that everyone have the same political opinion,” added Sox CEO Sam Kennedy.
And from Masslive article of 08/31/2020
“I know there have been some negative things said the last few days about comments that he made,” Roenicke said. “If people want to get on him for the way he plays or something like that, okay, but nobody should ever question what type of guy this is. This is a really good person.
He’s a great teammate. He was a great leader for these guys. I felt bad for him because it really bothered him, the comments that were made.
Is he truly a great teammate for all? Perhaps on the field he showed leadership and solidarity. How about in the clubhouse? How would a gay teammate feel about Pillar’s leadership? As in so many cases, Roenicke’s statement reflects views only from his perspective as a white, privileged male.
I agree with Sam Kennedy. We cannot expect or demand the same political opinions from all members of any organization. We should, however, expect decency, empathy, consideration of the feelings of teammate’s and fans, and recognition of others suffering where so many of us are privileged to the point of not even realizing it. The Red Sox response was simply weak PR and an attempt to offend the least amount of people possible.
We have reached the point where I must use the age-old parental line – “This is going to hurt me more than you”.
I can no longer support the Red Sox unless and until the organization makes a STRONG stand for social justice, for fighting systemic racism, and showing outward and inward support for all people who are treated differently for their appearance, belief, sexuality, religion, and more.
I typically watch over 150 Sox games per year. For the first time in over 50 years, I am no longer watching games. I currently have no intentions of ever returning to Fenway Park. This will not even cause a blip on your balance sheet, but will have a significant effect on my daily life. In my mind, there are two seasons of the year – baseball season and the rest of the year.
In contrast, recent days have increased my pride and joy in being a fan of the Boston Celtics and the NBA. The words and actions of so many of their members remind me of our humanity and strength, and give me hope and encouragement. From the young Jaylen Brown to the venerated and wise elder statesman Bill Russell, these people are speaking and acting, at the risk of personal loss. They are demonstrating leadership rather than hiding behind platitudes.
There is no simple roadmap for how to solve the inequities faced by so many. Like much of your management group, I, too, am a white middle-aged male. We simply cannot put ourselves in the shoes of people who face fear daily of being mistreated, physically abused, verbally abused, assaulted, and yes, even murdered. We cannot recognize how many more opportunities many of us have that others do not; economic, educational, career, housing, so many aspects of life we take for granted are not that way for all. What each of us can do is fight for recognition of all the injustice in this country and this world. We can use our positions to speak the truth, not tired memes that justify hatefulness. We can use our wealth to sponsor programs that address injustices. We can publicly proclaim our support that BLACK LIVES MATTER. The fact we even need to say this brings me incredible sadness. We can educate, do more to encourage and enable voter turnout, address the enormous disparity in quality and financial support for education in predominantly poor communities, with high percentages of people of color. Sadly, the list is endless.
Boston Red Sox, the organization I have loved my entire life, please be bold, be willing to speak up for all, be willing to risk alienating some, be leaders in the community, the country, and the world. You have the means and the voice. Please do all in your power to work toward justice for all.
I ask these things for reasons both global and personal.
Globally, the world needs more people in positions of power to lead us all toward a more just environment. Those not being discriminated against must be part of the solution in support of every group that is oppressed. Those in positions of privilege and power must lead us toward a world where every person can live with dignify and in safety.
Personally, my selfish desire is to have reason to not lose one of my lifelong joys, being a Red Sox fan.
Thank you for reading this letter.