We grew up in New England, so it pained us deeply to see the racist tweets about Capitals playoff hero Joel Ward from certain alleged Bruins fans.
There's really not a whole lot to add to what others have said about them. They're nasty, unacceptable, disturbingly brazen, and on and on and on. The people who wrote those things deserve whatever bad things in life happen to them as a result.
But ...
We refuse to use the actions of an ignorant, sad few to condemn an entire city. Yes, Boston's track record of race relations isn't good. No city's is. And this isn't just an American problem, either. Remember this incident from preseason in Canada? It's not just a hockey problem, either. Spend enough time at European soccer matches and you'll hear things that make your blood run cold. Even a team photo can go horribly wrong if no one's there to say, "Hey, maybe this isn't a good idea."
Some people use sports as a template to express their real-world hatreds, racial, ethnic, or otherwise. Teams and clubs can try all the anti-racism initiatives they can, and some people will still be out there. That's just the sad fact.
UPDATED: Though it seems fairly obvious the Bruins have had nothing to do with this unpleasantness, the organization has issued a statement anyway.
The Bruins are very disappointed by the racist comments that were made following the game last night. These classless, ignorant views are in no way a reflection of anyone associated with the Bruins organization.