Baltimore Orioles outfielder Adam Jones says he was subjected to racist taunts by fans at Fenway Park this week. Some, like Curt Schilling, question Jones’ account and claim he made it up.
But here is something no one is considering: how do we know for sure that Adam Jones is even black? Are we just taking his word on that? Why? And if Jones isn’t black — and there’s very likely no “if” needed here; he’s not — how can we still accuse Boston fans of racism against a black player? We can’t.
Here are some FACTS we know that suggest Adam Jones is NOT BLACK.
FACT: There are only about 60 African-American players in Major League Baseball.
African-American players make up less than 10% of MLB players. That means there is a greater than 90% chance that Adam Jones is not black! Wow. I’m as skeptical of stats as the next guy since the election, but this one is pretty open and shut. It’s not fake news. The truth is that it’s nearly statistically impossible for Adam Jones to be black. But there’s still more to uncover.
FACT: A lot of white guys are named “Adam.”
Most people named Adam are white. Look it up. But even beyond the hard data, we know this to be true anecdotally, too. Adam of Adam and Eve fame? Very white in all the paintings. I also knew a guy in college named Adam and he was also white.
FACT: Another Adam Jones is a well-known football player.
Say you were a white guy pretending to be black. Chances are you’d try to model the persona of a prominent black person you are aware of. That is likely what happened here with Adam Jones of the Orioles and NFL player Adam “Pacman” Jones. The baseball one basically stole his identity and blackness and hoped people would just assume: “Oh, I guess all black athletes are named Adam Jones now,” and not ask the hard questions about whether he really is black.
FACT: Adam Jones spends a lot of time in the sun.
Because Adam Jones’ skin is dark, some may say he looks black … whatever that means. (It kind of sounds racist to me.) But plenty of people who have pretended to be black have done so by making their skin appear darker. That Rachel Dolezal used bronzer. Adam Jones? He spends the majority of his time outside in the spring and summer. So it is proven that he heavily uses the natural bronzer that is sun exposure. Pretty damning. Caught red-handed. Or in this case: black-handed.
FACT: We have a lot of stats on Adam Jones … RBI, SLG, OBP … but we know nothing of his DNA.
Doesn’t that seem suspicious to anyone else? What exactly is he hiding? I think I know, but it should be easy for him to clear all this up. But he won’t. He’ll keep his records hidden.
FACT: Black people know better than to go to Boston.
If Adam Jones is really black, then why would he go to Boston? It just doesn’t make sense.
