Update: Hennick has made his Facebook feed private, but the Globe report quotes more extensively from his original account.
Calvin Hennick reports on what happened when he took his son to his first Sox game, the day after Orioles player Adam Jones complained of racist taunting:
At the game, Jones got a small ovation from the crowd when he was introduced (and a much larger one before his first at-bat, when the stands had filled in). But after a young Kenyan woman finished singing the Star-Spangled Banner, the middle-aged white fan next to me leaned over and said, "It was too long, and she niggered it up."
I thought that surely I'd misheard him. This was the day after Fenway fans had made national headlines for racism, and the man could plainly see me sitting with my black father-in-law and half-black son. I asked him to repeat himself, and he said again, "She niggered it up."
He updates that the Red Sox have banned the guy from Fenway for life. The Globe has more.
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Comments
Pretty sick of this shit.
By RichB
Wed, 05/03/2017 - 11:25pm
As your run of the mill white dude, I'm pretty sick of the lean in racist comments you hear. This is pretty fucking normal shit you hear in and around Boston when it's a couple of white people and they just assume you are down. It's like those 80's and 90's drug commercials. Same tone and everything. It's like these scum think you must be down because of your skin tone.
It's normally justified with "I have a black friend" or some other shit. Jesus Christ, Bostonians, crack a history book (any local paper) and see why it's not ok.
As a programmer friend I know said "I lived in the south and I lived up here. I never been called the n-bomb until I lived here."
Richb, I'll take that challenge
By O-FISH-L
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 12:45am
I'd love to know where you are frequently hearing these N-bombs in Boston? My hearing is great and I frequent both high-end and dive, but haven't heard it or seen it reported. I will be rebuked for mentioning "black friends" but my white and Asian friends would also take immediate action on hearing such racist things. Are you reporting to police or just posting later to UHub? Please call 911, the BPD does a great job and has a special unit for race crimes.
Capecoddah wins the day. How is the Globe and John Henry going to handle the "N" word when it's used in every song in the lyrics at the park? I challenge John Henry to bleep it, or address why not? The players who complained about racist comments should also address this. The Globe should also be getting the other side of the story from the person allegedly banned from the park, since their owner must know the name.
Try the IV
By lbb
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 8:38am
I'll admit it, I didn't think Boston was a very racist city.
Then I went for a drink at the Irish Village.
If you don't hear it, you are either lying to yourself or your filters are set to All White = All Right.
Only if you're an exceptionally stupid child or an old white racist.
lbb lowers the boom.
By Anonymous
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 9:22am
.
so a song lyric
By Scumquistador
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 9:32am
and calling somebody a nigger are the same thing to you
ok then
is the band Anal Cunt the same thing as expressing my belief that your mother is a cunt?
the difference being that one of them spawned something that has marginal value in the world, of course
Fenway policy
By capecoddah
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 10:01am
-- so a song lyric and calling somebody a nigger are the same thing to you --
When the song lyric labels someone a nigger, yes. Most song lyrics use the word to call people exactly that. Very few lyrics use the word for anything else. Pay attention before you post. I mean, if the lyrics were not intended to call people niggers then the lyric could just substitute the word "people" or "person" or "homie" or "homeslice" or "homeslizzie" unless it was a necessary rhyming thing.
Red Sox management states that racial epithets are not allowed in Fenway park then they hire Nelly to sing racial epithets and tell us all about how women are ho's.
What I have learned today: Unruly fans with a desire to label and degrade anyone should sing their epithets for a free pass. Point and wave three fingers down when singing also - that looks so legit.
Also. this is about discussing Fenway policy. I do not desire to change the world.
For Chrissakes, guy
By Will LaTulippe
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 10:02am
The jerkoff dropped the bomb IN FRONT OF THE GUY'S BLACK FAMILY ABOUT A LADY SINGING THE (EXPLETIVE) NATIONAL ANTHEM AT A BASEBALL GAME.
lol haha
By Scumquistador
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 12:25pm
remember when you said black people weren't civilized and shouldnt be let into bars in boston until they learn how to behave
i do
when was that?
By anon
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 3:01pm
not a fan of wee willie la T, but are you making ad hominem shit up again, or can you actually link to a comment where he says that? Hard to imagine adam would let such explicit hate speech stand.
February 16th, 2016
By No
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 4:28pm
http://www.universalhub.com/2016/police-raging-men...
Adam did a great service of letting everyone know Will LaTulippe is a hateful white supremacist.
ok
By Scumquistador
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 10:11am
so because las vegas allows boxing i guess punching people in the face at random is ok too
because context means zero
-- i guess punching people
By capecoddah
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 10:31am
-- i guess punching people in the face at random is ok too --
The racial epithet is not allowed at all in Fenway Park by Red Sox rules for Fenway Park. Fenway neglected to add in a context clause so people could sing epithets. Las Vegas *does* have assault laws and boxing laws (Edit - Nevada has the laws, more likely) to separate the two types of punches.
Just because the context is jovial or familiar does not mean an epithet is not an epithet. F--- is swear even if I use it in a funny or endearing way. Hoebag is a misogynist word even if I am discussing the etymology of it to my grandmother in the most clinical of fashion.
But what if
By Sock_Puppet
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 11:11am
I happen to like to have a selection of hoes for different weeding/clod-busting tasks, and I keep them in a bag?
I asked my bitch about it, and she said that was rough. That's what she usually says, but she's too smart by arf.
im jealous
By Scumquistador
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 11:12am
if you really have a dog to hang with you while you garden
I know, right??
By Kaz
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 12:14pm
I mean Remy gets to sit in the booth and talk about HRs as "bombs" but I say ONE TIME that I planted a bomb under the RF bleachers and everyone acts all crazy and I get a lifetime ban! I mean, WTF, right?
its ok
By Scumquistador
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 12:20pm
after review it ended up just being half of a hot dog
Life experiences vary.
By RichB
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 12:17pm
Hyde Park. West Roxbury. Dedham. South Shore.
My anecdotal evidence comes from growing up in Hyde Park. I'm glad you didn't have to end up coming into contact with some of the people I have in my life.
This is nonsense. Thinking
By anon
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 10:27am
This is nonsense. Thinking that black people are treated better in the South is insane. Boston has had its share of troubled history, but most of it is 40-plus years ago with busing, poor treatment of Bill Russell, etc. But the Celtics had the first black player and the first black coach. The Braves had a black superstar in 1950. The Bruins had the first black hockey player. It's not as though this city is any more or less racist than other cities. Racism exists everywhere. It makes it harder to find a solution to it when you deny that it exists in the South. I've been to a ballgame in Cincinnati where a white guy was calling his black friend n---er the whole game. Not n---a.
Nobody was being hung on tree branches here 50 years ago.
And?
By lbb
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 1:10pm
As my old granddad used to say, "This is not a competition to see who's the worst." Sounds like it's time for Boston to do better.
Clearly you're not inclined to give Bostonians any credit.
By CopleyScott17
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 1:46pm
Assuming you live here, why do you live here?
Oh, are we handing out participation trophies now?
By lbb
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 3:08pm
Maybe you can explain to me what I would be "giving credit" for. For most people most of the time acting mostly civilized? Listen, even if you are a full-time fully civilized human being, I'm not gonna stand up and cheer for you -- treating other human beings decently and refraining from racist behavior should be a baseline expectation, not cause for celebration.
I give plenty of props to people who have actually done the hard work of trying to cure ugly ills like racism. I give them my respect even when -- perhaps especially when -- they are fighting a losing battle. But the truth is, I just don't see the average person doing that hard work. If you're white in America, racism does not have to be your problem - you can ignore it, or mouth false-equivalence platitudes about "there are jerks in all groups" and the like, or maintain an uncomfortable silence when a white person tells a racist joke in a group of all white people. We have that option, and very few of us ever step up to do more. So no, I'm not inclined to "give credit" without any evidence of effort or action. Do you think I should be?
Yeah, we absolutely need to
By anon
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 2:44pm
Yeah, we absolutely need to do better. But what I'm saying is there's a lot of nonsense stories about how Boston is the most racist city in America for sports. And that's an incorrect view. It's hyperbole and done for page views.
"a lot of nonsense stories"
By lbb
Fri, 05/05/2017 - 9:33am
I'm not so sure that there are "a lot" of such stories; it seems to me that a single story becomes a huge deal around here. And I'll grant you that some of them may be "nonsense" -- or at least, contain sweeping statements and hyperbole. OTOH, I've read some articles that still contain useful content even if they make one or two blanket statements about "Boston" or 'white people" or whatever. My sense, which is subjective as is yours, is that many people are fixing on one point or controversial statement in such an article and not making an effort to understand the article as a whole. Often it seems to me that these controversial statements furnish a convenient excuse for people to shut down and not engage in the subject. So, that's a choice you make: you can dismiss whatever's being said as "nonsense", or you can grit your teeth, take a deep breath, let the hyperbole slide and try to see if there is any sense in what you're reading. I think it's important to make the effort. At the least, we need to be honest if we're holding these "stories" to a strict standard where we would expect (or hope for) a more lenient and forgiving interpretation of our own communications.
Remember Charles Stuart?
By ckd
Sat, 05/06/2017 - 7:12pm
That was 1989 rather than 40+ years ago, yet when he blamed "a black guy" for the murder of his wife the police, news reporters, and public bought the act for a while.
(Also, 40 years ago Bostonians weren't hanging people from tree branches for their skin color, just trying to hit them with a flagpole.)
I never hear the N-word in Boston
By Snuggles
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 12:15am
I mean, said by a non-black person -- the offensive sense of the term.
I believe that some people are saying it, but I am wondering whether the who can be characterized.
I've heard it from homeless street people, and I heard some dude-bros on the street one club night yell it at a passing taxi driver, just for laughs.
I spend most of my time around the snooty universities and high-tech companies, where I think almost everyone wouldn't be caught dead saying that word. Some of that could be fear of firing or social ostracizing, but I think a lot of people would be disturbed if they heard the word coming out of their own mouth.
Are people hearing that word among any demographics of college students? Other groups? How widespread is it among Fenway attendees, and can we narrow that down?
Well I've been called an N
By Metoo
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 8:22am
Well I've been called an N-lover by my neighbor. My wife heard him mumble it as I left for work one morning. The same neighbor who held the door for us and greeted us daily. I guess he had some underlying hate for an interracial lesbian couple. Still kinda blows my mind though.
So, you never hear it...
By lbb
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 8:39am
Oh wait I guess you do hear it. Only it's from homeless street people or dude-bros. So all right then.
I should have edited the title, after I thought back
By Snuggles
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 11:21am
But you're latching onto that, and ignoring my question.
WHO is doing it? Is it just homeless people and a small number of drunk 20-something douchebags? Is it some of my colleagues? Is it half the people who live on my street?
When people nearby hear it at Fenway, do they think it's OK?
Because white racists are cowards
By anon
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 4:30pm
That's why.
They rarely yell it out loud - they generally mumble it at someone, whisper it to someone that they think agrees with them or shares their rotted out soul, or will say it such that only a black person can hear it - often a child.
They know it is wrong but they do it anyway just to bully people.
This isn't the opinion of
By anon
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 6:26am
This isn't the opinion of most u-hubbers, but I call BS Adam... you tend to take unverified postings like from a random twitter perosn and spin it to be an official repeort. Good site but my goodness it is not great. This is a way for you to vent your prejudice on the non left and it's silly. Get a grip kid. You can be better
Oh, I see, have you filed a complaint with the Red Sox?
By adamg
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 8:13am
They're the ones who banned the racist, not me.
I won't even ask if you've complained to the Globe, which actually broke the story.
these comments are
By Scumquistador
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 7:37am
these comments are embarrassing
Yeah
By Michael
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 8:39am
I still feel nauseous for FISH agreeing with me in public. I may have to abandon the Internet and spend the day getting some fresh air
Whitey here...
By B
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 8:40am
That racist comment by the fan from a legit non racist, rather RACIAL and ETHNIC, white dude with a B.A. in Sociology who has lived in some rough minority filled area's point of view...A)Not something you say to a random white person you know cuz it IS pretty shiity and you never know who is gonna drop a dime on you (See Calvin Hennick). B) something you would only say to another good white friend who would laugh C)If dude said it KNOWING it was a low blow toward the bi racial family, that is BEYOND shitty D)BPD Civil Rights? Overreaction but a statement, like a Chris Sale 95 mph heater behind Machado E) Can't wait to see Michael Che shit on Boston again on SNL smh F)I love when ppl say "Never been called the n word til.I came up north." Really? Go the fahk back to Alabama then. Black man's paradise right? Christ, Im not even white enough to be accepted down there...If my post oozes white privilege and sarcasm, maybe. We are a region where we always ask questions about each other's race and ethnicity. I use ethnic "slurs" talking to friends all the time (ie "shaddup ya friggin Mick bastid.") Oh and this Calvin dude, def NOT someone who sounds chill to grab a cold one with...I just have a prob with snitches. I probably offended ppl but i really dont gaf. I think this is just another "black" eye for the city.
Oh fuck off.
By erik g
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 9:45am
Thanks for letting us know we can discount your opinion as completely worthless, even before you said a bunch of worthless things.
How fortunate that he hasn't offered to have one with you.
He told the usher about it, rather than take matters into his own hands. If it were me with my six-year-old being called racist slurs, I'd've broken the other dude's jaw, so I'd say he did pretty well.
Only with your inability to spell or form a coherent argument, buttercup.
Well, on this one thing I guess we agree.
So now, if someone next to me
By anon
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 9:05am
So now, if someone next to me is annoying me, can I report that the person said the n-word and get them thrown out of Fenway? Can someone do that to me even if I didn't say the word? How do Fenway officials know for a fact that the person said that word aside from that one person who says he heard it? It seems strange that a person would make that comment to a total stranger next to them who is obviously with two black people. If it is true, then that person must have a screw loose.
What is this: Hypothetical Questions for Stupid People Day?
By adamg
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 9:06am
You assume the Red Sox didn't investigate the claim?
I just deleted
By erik g
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 9:38am
a long and angry reply to anon here (Calvin is a good friend of mine, and if he's making this up then I'm the Queen Mother), but I will instead replace it with: as soon as there's an epidemic of white people being falsely accused of racism, we'll deal with it. Meanwhile, how about we listen to the vast swaths of people of color who report being the target of racism, without requiring them to wear body cameras before we believe them?
For a segment of society
By bulgingbuick
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 9:40am
the following never happened:
The Holocaust
Sandy Hook
The Moon Landing
The Kennedy asasination
So the denial of the Fenway incident isn't unusual.
How is it stupid to question
By anon
Fri, 05/05/2017 - 7:40am
How is it stupid to question in order to get at the truth? I don't know the person who said the offending word and I don't know the person who reported it. I don't just believe something because someone said it. I try to dig a little deeper to find out more so I can make an informed judgement. All I have been able to find on this incident is news stories where one person accuses another person of saying an offending word and the accused person denying it. Since you know the whole story - how did the Red Sox investigate and come to their conclusion?
Let's get this straight
By Stevil
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 10:40am
The report said they did investigate AND he admitted saying it.
Listen to the witness-he even asked the guy to repeat it and he did.
And - they put a sign up with a number to call if anyone is misbehaving at every game.
Folks - I do not want to hear the N word or the C word anywhere, EVER. Call me old fashioned, but i gag on those words even when you say them. Just don't. Not even in private.
Where did you read this
By anon
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 4:42pm
Where did you read this report? Everything I've read said the guy denied saying it. I wasn't there so I don't know if he said it or not. Can anyone else corroborate what was actually said or do we just believe whatever anyone says without question?
Fuck off
By anon²
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 11:42am
You can be kicked out of Fenway for any reason the ballclub wants. It's their club.
Seeing as you're an asshole with asshole train of thoughts, you'll find a way. Don't worry your pretty head about the above.
According to the Boston Red Sox Flagship Radio Station's
By bulgingbuick
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 9:07am
number one on air program, neither incident happened. So they don't tolerate this stuff in the ball park. Hey when advertisers pay big money through the radio deal and you make big money off of the radio deal racism isn't happening.
Are Kirk and Callahan still
By Anonymous
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 9:30am
Are Kirk and Callahan still demanding proof? They're skeptical of the truthfulness of both the player of color and (how could they not) the fan. If they were sincere and had any substantive reason to be skeptical I'd give them some credit. I don't.
Kirk and Callahan
By lbb
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 9:43am
Kirk and Callahan are a couple of shit-stain bigots who want everyone to believe that they're honest, fair and unbiased. They are the dudebro's dudebros. I'd say that it will be a good day when they're finally kicked to the curb, but given that they're still on the air, I shudder to think about what they'd have to do to get fired.
You'd have to ask Erin Andrews or a few METCO
By bulgingbuick
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 9:44am
students to explain.
Fox, Rush, Kirk & Whatshisface
By Anonymous
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 10:08am
The worm has turned at Fox News. What's driving the purge is not a concerted effort to create a healthy (not hostile) workplace but purging media talent associated with demeaning behavior toward women and women of color. It's more about reputation than liability or good management practices. When Ailes got the hook (huge buyout) and none of the other dominoes fell, it was only a matter of time for drip drip drip to entangle other talent that under Ailes got a pass.
The accumulation of former hostile workplace reports, $13m in payouts for the same over the years, pressure by O;Reilly's dinner date, the psychiatrist, plus the office worker who reported O'Reilly called her 'hot chocolate' and their lawyer Lisa Bloom is why O'Reilly, their golden goose, was kicked one year's pay in hand, and his jackass producer Jesse Watters is on "vacation" I don't know if that'll stem the clean-up on Ailes cesspool or if there's more.
Women have been fighting back at Rush since he went after Sandra Fluke when Federal government was crafting Affordable Care Act. They did a good job of getting sponsors to end their relationships with his show because of his uncivil, derogatory and ultimately irresponsible speech. But they haven't gotten him kicked.
Now would be a good time to pressure Red Sox management to rethink Kirk and Callahan or go after their advertising revenue if you thought their speech contributed to a hostile environment toward women or people of color or any other group they blame for shit. They're broadcast on public airways. You can pressure their advertisers. The Red Sox are motivated to cleanup their reputation. Strike.
Heard about this on WGBH
By Will LaTulippe
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 9:27am
Of course, they promptly buried the lede:
"When confronted by security, the fan denied saying it."
Perspective:
By CopleyScott17
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 10:28am
Quoting from the Globe report: "Now Hennick, who has lived in the Boston area with his wife for the past decade and not faced harassment, wonders if he and his family have just been fortunate."
This is absurd. Yes, there are racists in Boston. Yes, there are racists everywhere. Unfortunately, Mr. Hennick happened to be sitting next to one. But thanks to this incident and the one the night before, all these old Boston stereotypes are dredged up. This interracial family lives here for 10 years without incident, but one comment from one idiot is enough for Mr. Herrick to put all that aside and jump on the Boston-is-Racist train.
Stereotypes die hard, but they have to die sometime.
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