Boston Red Sox fans have gotten used to not hearing much from team ownership, particularly principal owner, John Henry. The man at the helm of Fenway Sports Group pulled back from the Red Sox after the 2018 World Series, slashing the team's payroll, which led to multiple last-place finishes in the American League East.
Henry made fewer media appearances and even cut his social media activity due to pressure from reporters and fans. But after two productive offseasons in a row and palpable good vibes around Red Sox Nation, Henry surfaced on social media before Opening Day 2026.
Dan Shaughnessy, the longtime columnist forThe Boston Globe, responded to a tweet from a Red Sox fan complaining that they had to watch the Pittsburgh Pirates' spring training game broadcast, as opposed to a NESN broadcast with hometown announcers announcers. The writer slammed NESN for its greed in not sending its own broadcast squad for the game.
He quickly apologized for the post, however, after he learned that it's standard practice for networks to air the home team's broadcast to broadcast as many spring training games as possible. Henry responded to Shaughnessy's post with just one word: "Historic."
Sam Kennedy's hilariously bad defense of John Henry's brief return to social media riles up Red Sox fans
Historic
— John W. Henry (@John_W_Henry) March 23, 2026
Henry clearly isn't used to hearing apologies from members of the press, to the point that it brought him out of social media retirement. Still, Sox fans left a cacophony of negative comments under Henry's response, signaling they're not ready to forgive him just yet. His return to social media might've been a mistake, even if it was brief.
Red Sox CEO and president Sam Kennedy rushed to his defense in the most Sam Kennedy way possible. He spoke about Henry's tweeting escapades on his annual pre-Opening Day appearance on MassLive's "Fenway Rundown" podcast.
"Yeah, I saw that and I obviously had to smile... The choice to not engage day to day with members of the media is a choice that has served John well because it’s just something that he leaves to others.
“But when he wants to do it, when he wants to engage, he will. And you saw that (Sunday) night and I had to laugh at our friend Dan’s expense” (via host Chris Cotillo).
Of course, Red Sox fans detest Henry's choice not to engage with them or the press — there's seemingly no accountability for how poorly the Red Sox have performed since 2018, since Fenway Park still sells out on a near-nightly basis and FSG is still raking in money. Kennedy knows that it's served Henry well to avoid media coverage because he has no real justification for his previously limited spending, and Henry's limited interviews in recent years have shown as much.
No one looks good after this interaction (although Henry's one-word own of Shaughnessy is quite funny). Shaughnessy was misinformed, Henry only shows his face when it's convenient for him, and Kennedy defends it (poorly). Nobody wins here, except Red Sox fans who wanted a chance to savage Henry in Twitter comments.