CLEVELAND, Ohio — A Red Sox fan from Lowell says she and her friends had such a bad experience in Cleveland during the playoffs, that she's vowed to never visit the city again.
"Behind us, we heard only fat people are from Boston," Brittany Broderick told FOX25.
Brittany Broderick penned an open letter to the fans of Cleveland on Facebook, and it's gotten hundreds of shares. She said that the three men sitting behind her repeatedly heckled her, saying nasty personal comments -- even allegedly making comments about her sexual orientation.
It was supposed to be a trip Broderick and her two friends would never forget. The three ladies, die hard Sox fans, drove 11 hours to Cleveland for game two of the ALDS.
It was the first time Brittany has ever been to an away game, and perhaps the last after the extreme heckling.
"When their team came up and they got a hit they would start waving their towels and purposely hitting us in the head with them. So after the third or fourth time of me getting hit in the head, I turned around to look at them and he purposely tipped his beer to spill on me," she said.
Brittany claims the three fans then made homophobic comments towards her and her partner.
"I've never been treated like that in my entire life. Being gay, we face trials and tribulations -- there's definitely trials and tribulations you go through -- but I've never been treated like that in Massachusetts or anywhere else I've traveled for that matter," Broderick said.
The insults weren't just directed at the ladies, but Big Papi as well.
"Told us that we needed to stand up and get exercise, and told Big Papi to take his fat lazy a** back to the Dominican Republic where he came from," she said.
She said that she called security because the heckling was so bad. When the security officer came over to where they were sitting, the men said the spilling of the beer was an accident and downplayed it, according to Broderick. The security officer then walked away, she said.
"I'm truly sickened. I have been to countless Red Sox games at Fenway and never have I ever seen an away fan treated that way," Broderick said.
Broderick has reached out to the Indians, asking for a refund for the tickets. FOX25 has reached out to the organization for comment.
The letter is posted below. Warning: it contains some harsh language.
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An open letter to the Fans of Cleveland:
On October 7th I went to Game 2 of the playoff games between the Cleveland Indians and the Boston Red Sox. I drove 11 hours to get to Cleveland and this was the first time I have ever been to a sporting event at an away game. I would like to start off by saying Progressive Field is amazingly beautiful. Prior to the game I couldn't stop taking pictures and staring in awe at how nice the place really was. In the first inning we clapped for our team. We were just three girls rooting for their team. As we started cheering the three men behind us started to say some things that just weren't okay. It started with "FU** Boston, Go back to Boston, and screw you Chowdah heads." In the name of the game we ignored it and clapped for our team when they were up to bat. When Cleveland came up they got worse. "Fat people come from Boston" and waving their towels and purposely hitting our heads. I am overweight and there were no other fans around with Red Sox gear. Now after they hit my head I turn around to hopefully show him that I noticed and he'll stop. Instead he looked down and tipped his beer to spill on me. My colleague that I came with then decided to go to security. In that time I turned around and looked at the guys and said, "you guys realize you're talking to girls right?" His response was, "well you're kind of girls." My colleagues daughter and I are pretty clearly gay and that was why the comment was made. The security officer came and I told him what happened. He downplayed the situation and when the guy said that it was an accident the security officer accepted that and shook his hand and walked away. In the time to follow they made fun of us for calling security, continued to make jokes about offending us, told us that we needed to stand up and get exercise, and told Big PAPI to take his fat lazy ass back to the Dominican Republic where he came from. In all my years of living, I have never felt so uncomfortable and offended in my life. I felt like I couldn't cheer for my team anymore. I was surprised that every other fan around these guys ignored what was happening to us. Between the gay slurs, the racial slurs, and the conversations about how fat people from Boston are, I'm truly sickened. I have been to countless Red Sox games at Fenway and never have I ever seen an Away fan treated that way. The fat lazy people from Boston have something called respect. I hope that when the Indians fans walk into Fenway on Sunday, they are treated with dignity and respect. I will never come back to Cleveland. I can deal with loud and obnoxious, I can deal with rude, I cannot deal with ignorant, disrespectful grown men antagonizing three woman. (Well one woman and two kind of girls.) We took a picture of these guys. Feel free to share this, so people can see what kind of people they are. And share it for the Red Sox fans going to the game on Sunday who would never treat a human being like this. Lastly, I want to thank the people of New England for making sure the first time I ever experienced this treatment was a long way from home. I hope I never have to feel like that again.
Sincerely,
A Red Sox Fan that went to a game in Cleveland.