The more things change, the more they stay the same. Use to be a time in the recent past where if an African American uttered the word "racism" he was bombarded with criticism that he was using the "race" card. The opinion makers have effectively eradicated use of the word "racism" from the language like the medical profession got rid of small pox. They replaced it with the kindler, gentler alternative "racially insensitive". That replacement never caught on. People think that if they root out the obvious words, they can still spew their hate-filled venom. You can call it by any other name, but it's still the same.

It is time to be much more precise with geography; this happend in NH and not Boston. And those Bruins fans everyone talks about are not Bostonians. And their tweets came from places other than Boston. While there are surely people in the city who harbor racial bigotry, I suspect this is the case across the country as well. I may not be a trained journalist, but it seems to me that this story should be about the possible pockets of racial bigotry that may be lurking inside Manchester, NH.

This article is should be removed. To take one fool's comments and cast a pall over an entire region is journalism at its worst. Sensationalizing this is irresponsible.

Please let's move on. There will always be jerks everywhere.

Why are we talking about this outlier racist, anyone at the Globe see the unemployment numbers yesterday?

Hard to judge which is more pathetic. Crawford making an issue out of one word he thinks (everyone heard this loud mouth, nobody heard him say this) or Chris Gasper making a column out of it. This is so tiresome, so tedious, so predictable and so completely irrelevant. This reopens old wound Chris?? Really?? For who Chris??? Carl the multi-millionaire?? LAUGHABLE!!!!! Psssst....memo to Carl and Chris. Black people getting called names is no more significant than anyone else getting called names. Only psychologists can tell us why an ignortant few need to run to the media like kindergarten kids if someone calls them a bad name. BTW, people gets called bads names on a daily basis around this big wide world. Think white athletes hear racial slurs from black fans?? Yup!! We ever hear about it??? Nope! Think Euro's hear ethnic insults from fans?? Yup!! We ever hear about it?? Nope! Why is that Chris???? Why does Carl Crawford feel the need to whine?? Why does Chris Gasper link the supposed (fan denies it) comment of one fan in NEW HAMPSHIRE to Boston's past. Whose doing the stereotyping Chris??

What hate filled venom was spoken here??

Fan in New Hampshire "supposedly" (fan denies, nobody else heard it) uses one racial word against Carl Crawford and Chris Gasper uses that to smear Boston and Boston fans. Chris Gasper is the one stereotyping. He's too ignorant to realize just how big a hypocrite he is. We're not!

Check out the black community if you're looking for virulent racism.

Sounds like Crawford would like to go home to Texas.

I echo the sentiments of the other commentators. This is ridiculous, but an easy go to article for Chris when he might be out enjoying a nice summer day instead of brainstorming. C'mon Chris, your readers deserve better.

Unfortunately when you have a racial history like Boston's there is little room for these incidents to happen. It really does not matter where the fan was from because Carl Crawford as a player represents the BOSTON Red Sox and he is thought of that way. As a result the fan was a Red Sox fan, and whether he was literally from Boston is irrelevant. It isn't like New Hampshire is a million miles away. No, the whole of New England should not be painted with the brush of racism based on the comment of one ignorant person, but does anyone really believe that Crawford's race is not something that is part of the equation when his performance is evaluated. As soon as he got off to a bad start and then got hurt I figured something like this would happen. What is worse is that this idiot fan probably represents the thoughts of more people in this region than we would like to admit. Not many people but just enough to keep us from ever getting past our history. Thus, instead of complaining about Gasper writing about it or Crawford reporting what had happen, be willing to confront those who say such things. That will begin the process of healing.

Christopher, thanks for naming this dynamic loud and clear. Those who angrily contend we live in a post-racial world because of the election of Obama, simply don't get it. We are not that far removed from the time when folks on WEEI made fun of black players without fear of public retribution.

Chris, thank you for the article. Racism is stubborn and needs to be called out whenever it happens. Kudos to Crawford for having the courage to publicly call attention to the slur and ask that it be addressed. . I'm sorry it happened. Nobody deserves that.

Despite the strides made against racism there's still going to trash like that cowardly jerk in Manchester throwing aspersions at C.C. or losers like the fans who diparaged Joel Ward. The important thing is that general society doesn't accept it or allow it.

Judging by some of the previous comments, I'm reminded of the old saying "the more things change the more they stay the same." I also recall an incident that happened many years ago at Fenway Park when rookie Willie Mays had a tryout with the Red Sox and Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey yelled "get that (n-word)off the field!" Can you imagine how many pennants and world series we could have won with Willie Mays and Ted Williams smacking the ball out of Fenway Park? Unfortunately, ignorance prevailed and look at the results.

You only insult other's intelligence when you try to act dumb.

Why was he supposed to mark a new chapter in Red Sox history? We haven't had very popular black players before?

It takes several generations for societal ills like racism to be expunged. Unfortunately, we've got a ways to go before incidents like this stop happening. As a Bruins fan, I was appalled by those tweets after the Capitals series.

All anyone need do is read some of the comments posted on these forums about President Obama and it's clear to see that racism is alive and well and thriving in these parts.

He was supposed to be the star of the next generation. Nothing to do with his skin color.

I am sorry, but am I the only one who is tired of these dumb stories? Let's get over the fact that some moron says something offensive and that it is always meant as a one-way slur. Please, let's move on and leave the victim culture behind.

my goodness, has anyone actually been to NH? Are we surprised someone said something like this? Easily the least tolerant and least enlightened of the NE states.

I agree with Shoney,every race has been slured.All races and genders will be equal when slurs are laughed at.Because they will feel equal.If they dont ,then they are weak.

Would other fans have been more pro-active had that known that Crawford had been slurred? One would hope. However, I had NO IDEA that calling someone a Monday was a racial slur. I wouldn't have turned the guy in because I wouldn't have realized what he was doing. Also, it's terrible that a "fan" feels so comfortable being blatantly racist but just because Carl Crawford hadn't encountered this in Texas doesn't mean Texas is free of prejudice & NE is a hotbed of racism. FAR from it! I lived in Texas for years & the flagrant racism is stunning. The outrageous racist comments I would hear expressed were breathtaking. These people would assume if you were white it must be safe to say things in front of you. It would shut them down quickly when I'd inform them that I had black relatives! Normally I wouldn't embarrass people but they needed embarrassing. I've never heard anyone here say such things but that hardly constitutes a scientific survey in either case. One last thing...if you don't like black people, what sport is "safe" for you? Curling? If sport is true sport, in which one is judged based on performance alone, black people will be very well represented in the upper echelon of the field. Get over it or take up basket weaving.