It’s disheartening to see that racism persists in the Boston sports world (“Racist tweets thoroughly condemned,” May 3).

When P.K. Subban, a black player for the Montreal Canadiens, scored the winning goal in a playoff game against the Bruins, a torrent of racist abuse erupted via Twitter.

The Bruins management said the tweets “do not reflect the organization.”

The Subban matter is not an isolated incident. I have seen other games in which Subban was loudly booed by Boston fans – for transparently racist reasons – every time he touched the puck.

At what point should management have taken action to condemn such behavior? And you have to wonder, what is the effect on the Bruins’ own black player, Jarome Iginla? Isn’t the booing of one black player also a show of discrimination toward all black players?

How is it that Boston sports fans are tainted with racism? Could that other team – the Red Sox – be partially responsible?

Tom Yawkey, owner of the Red Sox from 1933 to 1976, was known as a notorious bigot. The Sox were the last Major League Baseball organization to hire a black player.

Even after 1959, when “Pumpsie” Green was hired, minorities were almost invisible on Red Sox teams. Fans, myself among them, had to have been aware of the discriminatory hiring practices of Red Sox management, and, by their silence and continued support of the team, became complicit in it.

Malevolent corporate behavior created a climate of intolerance, affecting fan attitudes for the worse.

It’s heartening now to see people of color playing for the Red Sox: Ortiz, Bradley Jr., Bogaerts, Doubront and Uehara, among (thankfully) others. Maybe seeing significant numbers of people of color as heroes on the ballfield will work to change fan behavior and attitudes for the better.

Val C. Hart

Cumberland