The New York Yankees are visiting the Boston Red Sox this weekend, which typically would mean the renewal of a heated rivalry. But the back-and-forth between the bitter foes helped serve a much different purpose Saturday.
Tens of thousands of counter-protesters took center stage in Boston on Saturday, gathering in response to a self-described “Free Speech” rally at the Boston Common. The counter-protesters marched to the Boston Common and stood in solidarity in the wake of last Friday’s white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., which devolved into violence and left one dead.
This is the first video I've seen that really shows the disparity between the "free speech" rally and the thousands of counter-demonstrators pic.twitter.com/Lca2J3vhsc
— Evan McMurry (@evanmcmurry) August 19, 2017
Many counter-protesters waved signs decrying neo-Nazis and white supremacists, and one man put a spin on a familiar refrain in the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry to get his message across.
https://twitter.com/JackSmithIV/status/898942018881286145
That’s quite the “Boston” response, indeed.
According to Boston Police Commissioner William Evans, the counter-protests were relatively peaceful given the massive size of the crowd.
Just spoke with police commissioner. About 30k crowd today. Roughly 20 arrests and a few minor injuries.
— Eric Kane (@EricKaneTV) August 19, 2017
The city also received plenty of support in the wake of the counter-protests — even from Yankees fans like actor and producer Richard Schiff.
Loving Boston today! This from a @Yankees fan! https://t.co/4AjIMkvYEA
— Richard Schiff (@Richard_Schiff) August 19, 2017
The baseball teams’ rivalry will continue Saturday night at Fenway Park in the second contest of a three-game series, but we’re glad Boston and New York could set aside their differences for a day.
Thumbnail photo via Jesse Johnson/USA TODAY Sports Images
