I am so tired of politics hijacking my sports. Being from New England, Massachusetts in particular, I cherish Boston’s pro sports teams. The Red Sox, Patriots, Bruins, and Celtics are in my blood.

Boston sports fans’ moods for a day or a week are often dictated by whether our teams win or lose (oh, yes…it is a sickness). We love our sports to an unhealthy degree. That is until the heads of leagues, at least for me, began ruining our sports by allowing partisan politics to infect it.

It used to be that sports was one of the very few things political opponents could agree on. Republican or Democrat, you can love the same sports teams. You could sit down and have a beer or coffee and talk and joke for hours with someone you have little agreement with politically. Sports provided a much-needed respite from the acrimony of the day. No longer.

With some players kneeling for the national anthem, and political fascists haranguing and demanding apologies from other players for defending the American flag and supporting our nations’ traditions, watching our favorite sports teams is becoming impossible.

When the anti-cop, Chinese slave labor-supporting Nike pitchman Colin Kaepernick began all this crap, whenever I saw a player or coach, especially on one of my Boston teams, kneel for the national anthem, it tainted the game for me. Especially since the reason for the kneeling —prevalent police brutality against black people— is based on a myth.

Now, the disrespect for police and traditional America is becoming routine. The NBA has the name of a Marxist organization emblazoned on basketball courts, and players can wear their virtue signals on their uniforms. The NFL plans to further divide fans (and players) by playing two “national anthems.” One for which you’d better stand and one for which you’d better kneel. I’ll let you guess which is which. And now the disease has infected Major League Baseball (MLB).

Yahoo Sports is reporting, “The Red Sox’ ceremony prior to their 2020 season opener at Fenway Park on Friday will include a ‘social justice component,’ according to The Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham.” Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke said he doesn’t know if any players will be kneeling, “but that he’ll fully support them if they do so (I just swore at him in my head). I hope not, but I would not be surprised these days.

I also saw the other day that the Red Sox organization has displayed outside our beloved Fenway Park, “BLACK LIVES MATTER” (not shouting, that’s how they painted it). Sam Kennedy, the team president, said, “We understand and respect that others may see it as a political statement. We don’t see it as a political statement or an endorsement of any political organization or political policies. We see it as a human rights message for justice and equality.”

Does he think we’re stupid? Of course, it’s political. It’s a massive, partisan, leftist political statement. He even concludes his remarks with, “And we’re very supportive of the fight for social justice and equality for everybody.” He means leftist-defined “social justice,” which is as political as you can get.

But, to nearly every police officer I know (and most conservatives), displaying this motto in this fashion endorses support for BLM the Marxist corporation and movement. That’s certainly how it struck this retired cop. So, I emailed the Red Sox my concerns.

Dear Red Sox Organization,

I have the Red Sox running through my veins. Went to my first game at Fenway in 1967. Rico Petrocelli is still my favorite player.

As a retired Seattle police officer, who is married to a retired firefighter whose father was a cop in Mass. for 36 years, I was crushed when I saw the large “BLACK LIVES MATTER” displayed at Fenway.

The notion that black lives matter is so obvious, it is an insult for someone to make you say it because if you say black lives don’t matter, you’re buying into a provable myth.

If you folks had put up, “The Red Sox believe black lives matter,” great. That’s obviously true, unnecessary to say, but true.

However, when you use capital letters, either at the beginning of each word or especially for all the letters, you are endorsing the vehemently anti-police, self-admitted Marxist organization by that name. Even if that is not your intention.

Do the research. It’s not hard. Their leaders admit they are “trained Marxists” who want to overthrow the U.S. government.

And members of Black Lives Matter are, as I write this, still destroying business and assaulting my fellow brother and sister cops nearly every day out here in the northwest.

If you don’t believe me about the BLM organization, ask any Boston cop. They’ll tell you. I respectfully ask, please stop endorsing a violent Marxist organization.

I love the Red Sox, but I will not watch, neither on TV nor (when we can again) at Fenway Park (or at Safeco Field) nor will I buy any Sox gear for myself or as gifts for family and friends.

It will kill me to do this, but as a police officer, I cannot support any organization that supports anti-cop Marxists who are assaulting and killing cops (remember the 5 murdered Dallas cops? They were killed by a BLM member).

Respectfully yours,

Steve Pomper

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The Red Sox emailed me back the next day.

Black Lives Matter is not an endorsement of the Black Lives Matter organization, its policies or views. To us, these three words acknowledge the humanity of the Black population and the impact of so many individuals who have contributed to the success of this iconic franchise.

Fenway Ambassador

Boston Red Sox

I replied:

Thank you for your prompt response. I truly appreciate it. And while, as I said in my email, endorsing BLM Inc. may not be what you intend, that’s what cops see.

It would be much easier to believe the Red Sox organization is sincere if it also displayed “BLUE LIVES MATTER.” Because, hopefully, to the Red Sox, these three words acknowledge the humanity of law enforcement officers and the impact of so many cops who have contributed to the success of this iconic franchise.

After all, it’s Boston police officers who keep the fans, staff, officials, and players at Fenway safe every single home game the Sox play.

Sincerely yours,

I don’t know if my emailing the Sox will do any good. So many iconic corporations and organizations have gotten sucked into this fascist and communist whirlwind that wants, first, to destroy, and then to remake our great nation. And these corporations and organizations are either explicitly paying cash or implicitly bowing in tribute to destructive, anti-American groups like BLM.

Whatever the sports leagues’ reasoning may be, their political pandering is destroying sports for many Americans. It’s profound how organic a true fan-team relationship is. You can’t just decide one day you will be a fan of a team, and you suddenly love the team. The relationship has to nurture and grow over time and through shared experiences (good and bad). Unfortunately, America’s professional sports teams are taking this relationship for granted. I can feel what I thought was an unbreakable affection for my Boston teams evaporating with every political move the team and the leagues make.

I can only say, I sure hope the NHL and the Boston Bruins resist jumping onto this political, virtue-signaling bandwagon. Otherwise, I may have to explore other sports like curling to satiate my need for sports. Although, I just can’t see myself getting a tattoo of a curling team like I have of my Boston teams.