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| Don Fitzpatrick |
Almost six years ago, in December of 2011,
FenwayNation wrote about the sex abuse allegations lodged at former Red Sox clubhouse manager Don Fitzpatrick. At the time, two more men had come forward claiming Fitzpatrick sexually abused them—
this time at Fenway Park. When the allegations first came to light in 1991, then-team-owner
Jean Yawkey paid Fitzpatrick what amounted to a $100,000 'golden parachute' as he left the organization. He died in 2005 without ever having been
fully prosecuted for the alleged crimes—although in 2002 he
was convicted of "attempted" sexual battery. The Red Sox then "settled" claims with seven of the men who alleged the abuse. Most of the alleged assaults are said to have taken place at the former Spring Training home of the Red Sox in Winter Haven, Florida. These events are now re-surfacing—in
stories by
Jeff Passan of
Yahoo Sports and
Alex Reimer of
WEEI.com. Coming on the heels of the effort to re-name Yawkey Way because of
Thomas A. Yawkey's bigoted views, the renewed light on
these activities raises the question of whether the Yawkeys
also covered-up for a sexual abuser in their long-time employ. Not a good week for the Red Sox brand, to say the least.
