Red Sox CEO Sam Kennedy sees “it as an honor” for the team to be invited to the White House (“This visit awkward to say least,” Dan Shaughnessy, Sports, Feb. 17). Apparently, and understandably, most players of color on the Red Sox don’t feel that way about an opportunity to shake hands with an openly and unabashedly racist president. So they’re not going. Good for them.
But what does it say about the Red Sox that the team ownership and all the white players are going? What happened to solidarity and empathy and having one’s teammates’ backs? Is this yet another chapter in the long and deplorable history of racism around the Red Sox? Will this be a factor when current Sox players of color decide whether to re-sign with Boston?
Dave Slaney
Cambridge
Note from KBJ: Calling someone a racist these days is nothing more (or less) than screaming, “I hate you!” The word has no descriptive meaning. It is pure emotion. I hope you feel better, Dave.
