Red Sox and Fenway Park are not Safe for Nursing Moms & Babies

I took my 9 year old son to a Red Sox game last night. He absolutely loves baseball and worships the Red Sox. He is a member of Kid Nation (a club the Red Sox has for kids). He has about 30 Red Sox hats and got another one last night. He is fanatical about them. His dad usually takes him to the games, as he is usually the one to get the tickets. However, last night I got to take him. I wasn't concerned about the baby because he is very easy to handle most of the time.

There is a tradition at Fenway Park (where the Red Sox play) that the kids go to the dug out before the games to get autographs. Sometimes they get an autograph, sometimes they don't. We went to the dug out around 5:30. The game starts at 7pm. We were at the dug out for over an hour with Ethan on my back. He was very content until around 6:30 and started to whine. I had given him water but knew he wanted to nurse, so I walked to the top of the first seating section to nurse Ethan. There was no way Mikey wanted to leave the dug out area in case another player came out (Shilling came out first and didn't get to the kids around Mikey) and there was no way I was going to leave him there alone to go somewhere else to feed the baby. So, I stood in the aisle by the rail where alot of people were walking back and forth to nurse the baby. I was standing up and not blocking anyone. I was not in anyone's path and there were many other people standing around the same area I was standing in and talking to each other. I nursed Ethan for about 5 minutes, because he is usually a very quick nurser. Fenway Park is very noisy in general. I kept hearing someone screaming but thought it was just part of the overall noise. When I started to go back down to get Mikey and tell him we had to get to our seats, I realized that this man was standing in the first row of the second level of seats screaming AT ME. Oh my god, I couldn't believe it. I wasn't even nursing anymore and this man was screaming at me "That's F*cking Disgusting...You should go to the bathroom for that". He was screaming this over and over. I looked at him and called him a weirdo and asked him how he would like to go to the bathroom and eat. He just kept screaming the same profanity over and over and over. I was literally shaking. No one around him was saying anything. I walked down to get Mikey from the dug out area and to ask the guy on the field with "Security" on the left pocket of his jacket who I needed to talk to.

The person on the field came up to the first level to ask me what the issue was. I explained what had happened. That person, a Security personnel of Fenway Park and the Red Sox presumably, stated "Well, you shouldn't be doing that in the park". I was flabbergasted. I asked him if that was the official policy of the Red Sox and Fenway Park, to which he answered "Well, we have nursing stations". I kept asking what the policy of Fenway Park regarding nursing mothers and babies was, but I never got an answer from him. That first person, whom I didn't get the name of, went to speak to the person who was screaming at me. He then returned and told me he was going to discuss the issue with the head of security. He then returned to the field. I had been asked to stand aside and wait for them to discuss this. I looked on as three men stood on side lines of the field by the Red Sox dug out and discussed what they should do about this person who screamed obscenities at me. The head of security (he told me later he was head of security for that area), then came up to me and asked me what happened. He told me his name was Billy but I did not get his last night, as he refused to give it to me. I relayed the story and then my dismay at the first security personnel telling me that I shouldnt be nursing in the park. Billy told me that the Red Sox and Fenway Park did not have a policy in support or in opposition to breastfeeding. He then told me that they do have a zero tolerance level for obscenities and that they were going to throw the man out for screaming and yelling at me. He also told me that it was very important to them that we (myself and my children) have a good time at the Park. He asked me where my seats were (I was unsure at that point, since we had gone directly to the dug out upon entering the Park). He noticed that in order to walk to my seats, I would walk in front of the man who screamed at me, so he basically forced me to walk in the other direction. I was assured at that point that the man would be evicted.

As I sat watching the game, I kept wondering why the security waiting in throwing the man out of the game. I also kept playing back in my head the comments regarding where I should have been nursing. I started to suspect that the man did not get thrown out of the game. As we were leaving at the bottom of the 7th inning, I walked back by the area we had been earlier to see if the man was still there. He was. He was not difficult to identify, as he had a cast on his arm. Security lied to me. They attempted to appease me when they realized our seats were far away and I would not notice if the guy remained in the Park.

I am absolutely appalled at the treatment I received. I can not believe that a nursing mother is made to feel filthy in the Park, while an obnoxious, screaming and cursing man is commiserated with and allowed to remain.