Torii Hunter Reveals Boston Fans' Racial Slurs Were Reason Behind His No-Trade Clause

The city of Boston contains multitudes -- one of the renowned hubs of higher, liberal arts education in the United States, sure, but a simmering (and often boiling) undercurrent of racial tension colors a lot of local decision-making.

Prominent athletes like Bill Russell never felt fully welcomed in the city in the 1960s, and forced desegregation of schools via bussing programs lasted from the mid-1970s all the way through the late 1980s. Of course, allegations of misdeeds have also always followed the local sporting populace, as Adam Jones popularly echoed a few years back, accusing fans at Fenway Park of racist taunts and tossing a bag of peanuts at him.

Five-time All-Star Torii Hunter has now echoed those sentiments on Thursday, claiming he'd been called the N-word in Boston "100 times," and blocked teams from trading him to the city as a result of said treatment.

Perhaps now, as they grow in number, African-American athletes who speak up about the discomfort they feel in Boston will be celebrated and attended to, not shunned like Jones was back in 2017 by many prominent voices, from Albert Breer to Curt Schilling.

At some point, even the doubters must face reality. Athletes visiting Boston of a certain race and creed have repeatedly been subjected to these types of things. Imagine what it must be like for non-athletes without a platform?

And, of course, Boston is far from the only place this happens.

At the very least, hopefully this past week has proven beyond a doubt that the privilege to always be comfortable is explicitly white, and that we can all do better.