Dot native helps Boston sports teams ‘Take the Lead’ in tackling race issues

Olivia Irving with eight-year-old Hailey Dawson, who with her prosthetic hand threw out the first pitch at Fenway Park in July. Olivia Irving photo

As a kid growing up in Fields Corner, Olivia Irving says her dreams were a lot like those of other children her age. “Like most kids, I wanted to be a professional athlete when I grew up,” she said. “Unfortunately, I’ve been the same height since I was in sixth grade.”

But even with her dreams of sports stardom dashed, the 25-year-old Dorchester native still wanted to be involved in sports in some capacity.

Thanks to a post-grad internship with Blue Sky Sports and Entertainment, a Norwell-based sports marketing firm, she found a new calling off the field.

“That experience made me realize that community engagement on the team side was something I wanted to do,” Irving said in an interview with the Reporter.

Her experience at Blue Sky led to an opportunity working with Boston’s professional sports organizations as the first-ever fellow for the city’s Take the Lead Initiative, an anti-racism campaign aimed at making Boston sporting events more inclusive.

Since the start of her fellowship in April, Irving has spent the most time with the Red Sox’ marketing and community relations departments, but she has also worked two-week rotating stints with the Patriots, Bruins, and the New England Revolution. Next up: a brief assignment with the Celtics.

Irving described the fellowship so far as “amazing and a once in a lifetime experience. It’s been great seeing behind the scenes in the front office and learning about what happens there to make everything on the field happen,” she said.

One of the challenges she is tasked with as a Take the Lead fellow involves addressing Boston’s reputation as an unwelcoming sports town, a reputation with roots in decades of racist Red Sox ownership that has been enhanced by events in recent memory like Baltimore Orioles outfielder Adam Jones saying he had been called a racial epithet at Fenway Park just last year.

The Take the Lead campaign is a chance to directly address that checkered history and write a new one instead, Irving said. “It’s kind of a way to say regardless of what’s happened in the past, this is the stance that we’re taking going forward,” she added.

For her part, Irving is reluctant to paint entire fan bases with a broad brush: “You can’t let one bad apple ruin it for everyone else,” she said.

But news stories tell us there are a lot of bad apples— and not a few racist ones— in the stands at sporting events, not just in Boston but in cities across the country. During her time with the Red Sox, Irving has seen the organization take several steps to promote inclusivity in a campaign that could serve as an example for other sports organizations.

“We organized a town hall where people could share their experiences, and we’ve hosted small group discussions talking about race and diversity,” she said. “So, it works as sort of a launching point for people to start these conversations and feel a little more comfortable bringing them up.”

The initiative also hosted the first Take the Lead Sports Career Summit last April at TD Garden, where more than 150 youths attended panels and seminars about working in the front office of sports organizations. A second summit is planned for early next year. For Irving, providing front office access for students of color is a way to ensure that in the future all types of fans are represented in the organization from the ground up.

“With teams here in Boston, everyone is definitely dedicated and committed to helping increase that diversity,” she said.

While far-reaching, meaningful change no doubt will require some patience, Irving says she’s already seen impacts on people’s thinking through feedback from a PSA in which Boston sports stars advocate inclusivity and denounce hateful acts.

“People are starting to be more encouraged to stand up against racism, hate speech, all those types of things,” she said. “Initiatives like Take the Lead can do a lot to help create a positive reputation.”


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