The Boston Red Sox released a statement on Wednesday that gave validation to statements that Torii Hunter made earlier this week about the racism he experienced at Fenway Park. Hunter even went so far as to include a no-trade clause to the Red Sox because of those experiences, despite admitting that he wanted to be on the team.

Hunter's comments were made during an appearance on WEEI's "The Greg Hill Show." This was the team's response to what Hunter said on the Red Sox's flagship radio station.

Here is some of what Hunter had to say during his radio appearance on Tuesday.

[W]hen I went to Boston it was so consistent. After a while, I just kind of shoved it off and I went out and played. I played with aggression though. I played like I really wanted to play well in Fenway. It has nothing to do with the Red Sox. It has nothing to do with the players. It has nothing to do with the organization. It really has nothing to do with the fans. But that's the issue when you hear that.

"This is my experience. So when people say, 'That's not true. Give me proof,' that's stupid. That's stupid. Because you have people saying it forever. We're not listening. It really dawned on me when I saw four or five kids chanting the N-word in the outfield. This is my story and it's not a lie. When I heard 'N-word, N-word' just chanting my name and I looked at these grown-ups and they are clapping and laughing. I'm pointing saying, 'Tell them to shut up. That's bad.' They can say, 'You suck Torii,' or ' You can't hit water if you fell out of a boat.' But that N-word I don't like. I'm from Pine Bluff, Arkansas and I hated it. So when I looked at the grown-ups and they didn't do anything, that's not a Red Sox issue. That's an issue in society.

Hunter noted that he wasn't trying to make sweeping generalizations about Red Sox fans, but was describing his personal experience playing at Fenway Park and wanted to shine a light on a problem in America today. He added that he loved the city, but he couldn't have his wife and kids in the area because of what he dealt with at the park.

"These kids are now probably grown," Hunter continued. "They are probably CEOs of companies. They are probably the head of something. And I can imagine these kids doing things to people of my skin color and mistreating them. That comes from the heart. Anything that comes out your mouth comes from the heart. ... That's a deep-rooted issue and that's a family issue. It has nothing to do with the Red Sox."

These statements are far from the first time a baseball player has mentioned the racist vitriol that gets hurled from fans in Boston. Former Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia said in 2017 that he never been called the n-word anywhere else but Boston and that black players had just come to expect racism in that park. Former Red Sox pitcher David Price was on the receiving end of what was described as racially motivated taunts. This isn't even the first time that Hunter has gone public with these kinds of stories. 

But perhaps the most notable recent incident happened to former Orioles outfielder Adam Jones in 2017. Jones was subjected to racist taunts, and even had a bag of peanuts thrown at him. It actually this incident that sparked Sabathia's aforementioned statement on the matter. In response to Jones speaking out, Fenway gave Jones a standing ovation as a mea culpa of sorts.

It's also worth noting that this statement only covers the vile stuff that fans have hurled at players and even employees of the park. The Red Sox may have changed Yawkey Way, named after the team's old owner that didn't integrate the team until 1959, to Jersey Street, but a morse code tribute Tom Yawkey remains on the Green Monster.