Red Sox
Wade Boggs responds to Oil Can Boyd: 'I am not a racist'
Wade Boggs, far left, and Oil Can Boyd, far right, are having issues right now. (Stan Grossfeld / Globe file photo)
Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd's book publicity tour is still having ramifications. Last week, he revealed in interviews that using cocaine was regular pregame fixture. But overlooked in the drug revelations was Boyd's comments on former teammate Wade Boggs, whom he called a racist who used racial epithets on a daily basis.
Boggs, who played with Boyd during Boyd's tenure in Boston from 1982 to 1989, vehemently objected to the accusation on WEEI's Dennis & Callahan's radio show.
"Absolutely, positively, 100 million percent, I am not a racist, I am not a bigot," Boggs said. "You have a delusional drug addict who let not only his family down, but his team, the city of Boston, Red Sox Nation when it counted most. Now he wants the good people of Boston to go out and spend money on this garbage to support his habit. I find that extremely amusing."
Boggs' wife also joined the radio program, defending her husband and Boggs' father, who Boyd said was the source of his racism.
"I have never heard either one of them use the word that starts with an ‘N’ in public or even in private," said Debbie Boggs. "They never used that word. We have relatives that are African-American in our immediate family. They are so hurt."
Boyd's book, "They Call Me Oil Can," will be released this summer.
The main contributors to The Buzz are:
- Steve Silva, Boston.com senior sports producer
- Gary Dzen, Boston.com senior sports producer
- Zuri Berry, Boston.com sports producer