Racism At Fenway? Nawww

Torii Hunter tells the Boston Globe of the racial epithets slung at him during games at Fenway Park. The chanting of the n-word was confirmed by Fenway security via David Ortiz. Of course it's less shocking when you consider Fenway has about as diverse a crowd as the Aryan Brotherhood membership:

Hunter told the Press-Enterprise of Riverside, Calif., that until the last couple of years, he regularly heard racist taunts when visiting Fenway as a member of the Minnesota Twins.

“I’ve been called whatever they call me - a lot - since I was a kid,” Hunter told the newspaper. “My first five or six (years), I was ‘That N-word.’ Some people would chant that out, some people would throw beer or whatever . . . batteries.”

...He had, however, informed Red Sox slugger and close friend David Ortiz - with whom Hunter spent six seasons as a teammate in Minnesota - of the racist comments he’d encountered. Ortiz remains dismayed that such behavior occurred in his home ballpark.

“(But) he heard some stuff that I’m surprised at. One of the security guys told me it was true. They were screaming that kind of stuff at him. That’s not right.”

From a Press-Enterprise story comes Gary Mathews Jr's take:

Last season, Gary Matthews Jr. described Red Sox fans as "loud, they can be obnoxious" and added, "It's one of the few places you hear racial comments every once in a while."

And Garret Anderson:

"I like playing there from the standpoint that for an old park, it's got some history," Anderson said. "That's the only thing that I like as far as playing there."