Airing of Comedic Roast Recently-Retired Red Sox Star Nixed Due to Racist and Antisemitic Jokes
by Shiryn Ghermezian

A comedic roast of recently-retired Red Sox baseball star David Ortiz was not aired as scheduled last weekend due to racist and antisemitic jokes made during the taping, the New York Post reported.
The roast — filmed by the New England Sports Network (NESN) — featured comedians Bill Burr, Lenny Clarke and Sarah Tiana, and also others poking fun at Ortiz. The comics also attacked each other and, at one point, New England Patriots football player Rob Gronkowski became a target of the roast when Burr mentioned the Ku Klux Klan to joke about the NFL athlete’s willingness to endorse items.
“Do you ever turn anything down, Gronk?” Burr said. “You would f–king spike a flaming cross at a Klan rally if they promised you travel and some buffalo wings.” Gronkowski joined in when he quipped, “You wanna know why Jews do play football? To get their quarter back, you cheap f–k.”
On Friday, Ortiz’s number 34 was retired by the Red Sox during a ceremony at Fenway Park. During Ortiz’s 13 years with the Red Sox, the team won three World Series championships and he appeared in 10 All-Star games.