Yankees: Jackie Bradley Jr. Responds to Torii Hunter and Adam Jones’ Boston Racism Claims

Jackie Bradley Jr. thanked Adam Jones and Torii Hunter after allegations of racism in Boston surfaced.

Boston has long been known for its racial tensions, often simmering barely below the surface of the city’s political decisions.

Famously, Boston Public Schools were subject to court-mandated desegregation via bussing processes from 1974-1988, leading to extensive white flight to the suburbs in the area, further altering the city’s landscape (and creating racial striations in the process).

Like it or not, racially-motivated vitriol has a history in the city’s vaunted sports scene, too. Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey was instrumental in keeping his team segregated long after Jackie Robinson had broken the color barrier, famously turning down opportunities to sign both Robinson and Willie Mays. His name was recently removed from the street adjacent to Fenway Park in response to his long-held beliefs. Celtics legend Bill Russell never felt properly appreciated during his 11-title reign in Boston, often feeling like a second-fiddle to Bob Cousy, and watching fan appreciation gravitate towards caucasian star Dave Cowens following his retirement.

If MLB stars Torii Hunter and Adam Jones are to be believed, Boston’s attitude hasn’t changed nearly enough in the intervening decades. Hunter revealed this week he’d been called racial slurs in Boston “100 times,” and Jones, who had a well-publicized incident in the Fenway outfield a few years back, backed him up.

Obviously, this issue is bigger than baseball, and the comments on this post were particularly noteworthy. Red Sox outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. (who’s a free agent following the 2020 season) chimed in to back up Hunter and Jones, thanking them for their mentorship and guidance over the years.

https://twitter.com/JackieBradleyJr/status/1269466986104397824?s=20

The insinuation here, of course, is that Hunter and Jones have guided Bradley Jr. through what to expect during his time in Boston, while knowing full well how they’d been treated as visitors. It also seems likely that JBJ has dealt with the same type of commentary, and Boston fans have arrived in the comment section to (luckily) defend him.

Of course, this is hardly the first time in recent years that African American MLB players have given the world a sneak peek at the way they discuss Boston.

David Price admitted in 2016 that he heard “racial taunts” in the first year of his contract. CC Sabathia opened up about the way MLB’s black population views the city and the epithets hurled their way back when Jones’ incident grabbed headlines in 2017.

This shared set of stories should be a wakeup call to athletes everywhere, as well as the city’s fans. Racial misbehavior unfortunately does not appear to be a thing of the past in Boston, and as an uprising of protest occurs across this country, expect other athletes in the know to voice their concerns.

Bradley Jr., who turned 30 in April, can leave Boston as a free agent next winter.