A massive Black Lives Matter billboard was unveiled at Fenway Park in Boston this week.
The Major League Baseball team revealed the 250-foot banner Wednesday, which has the words “Black Lives Matter” written in the Red Sox font accompanied by the team’s logo.
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“Recognizing that we have work to do ourselves, we wanted to show that we stand with those who are working to achieve racial equity,” Red Sox spokeswoman Zineb Curran said in a statement to the Boston Globe.
The #RedSox have put up a #BlackLivesMatter billboard next to Fenway Park along the Mass Pike https://t.co/6z9qH0LRsz pic.twitter.com/LI8dGvZujO
— WBZ | CBS Boston News (@wbz) July 22, 2020
The billboard was unveiled on the 61st anniversary of the team’s first black player, Elijah “Pumpsie” Green, playing a game, according to The Hill.
The move comes as sports teams across the country discuss how to show their support of Black Lives Matter, which its co-founder described as being composed of “trained Marxists,” and speak out against racial injustice.
Within the MLB, the league announced teams will have the option of stenciling support for the Black Lives Matter movement on the pitcher’s mound for the start of the season.
The Washington Nationals is scheduled to host the New York Yankees to begin the season Thursday night and said the pitcher’s mound will have “BLM” stenciled on it.
“The Nationals, in conjunction with Major League Baseball, stand with the Black Lives Matter movement and will utilize the platform and national stage of Opening Day to express support for the fight against systemic racism and injustice,” the team said in a statement Wednesday.
President Trump signaled earlier this week that he won’t watch sports games if players kneel during the national anthem in protest of racism.
“Looking forward to live sports, but any time I witness a player kneeling during the National Anthem, a sign of great disrespect for our Country and our Flag, the game is over for me!” he tweeted.
