Plane Tows Sell the Team Banner Over Fenway as Red Sox Frustration Boils Over

A small plane turned Fenway Park into a stage for open rebellion on Friday, circling overhead for more than an hour with a banner that read, “FIRE CRAIG! SELL THE TEAM!” The message targeted chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and principal owner John Henry, and it was impossible to miss because it passed over the ballpark while the Red Sox and Houston Astros were taking batting practice.

The protest landed at a raw moment for a franchise that entered Friday in last place in the AL East at 12-19, a start that had already pushed the fan base from grumbling into open fury. Fans outside the park looked up as the plane looped above Fenway, turning a familiar complaint into a visible referendum on the people running one of baseball’s most scrutinized clubs.

The anger has been building for weeks. Chants of “sell the team” have already echoed through Fenway, and they grew louder after Boston was swept at home by the Yankees. The optics were even harsher because the Red Sox had dismissed manager Alex Cora on April 25, 2026, after a 17-1 win over Baltimore, a result MLB said was the largest winning margin in any major league manager’s final game in the modern era since 1900. MLB also said five members of the coaching staff were let go.

Cora’s firing was notable for more than its timing. MLB said it was the first in-season managerial firing by the Red Sox since Jimy Williams in August 2001. John Henry said Cora had a lasting impact on the team and the city and thanked him for leading the club to one of its greatest seasons in 2018. That history only sharpened the contrast between Boston’s recent championship standard and its current slide.

The backlash is aimed at a front office that owns one of baseball’s richest championship legacies and is still judged by the scale of its ambition. Fenway Sports Group identifies John W. Henry as founder and principal owner, and the Red Sox remain a marquee franchise with nine World Series titles, including four since 2004. Friday’s banner did more than mock a bad record. It exposed how quickly patience drains when a high-profile team starts badly, and how little reassurance ownership has offered a fan base that expects more than another season of excuses.