As I wrote last year, I was glad to see the Red Sox win—at least it would end the sorry whining each year from their fans. But, as I documented, then, the image of the poor downtrodden team that appealed to progressives seemed odd compared to their large payroll, all-white fan base (compared to the far more diverse Yankee fan base) and a city best known for its still -existing racism. And, of course, there was Curt Schilling campaigning for Bush.

Anyway, now comes a further development which only reinforces the team’s questionable position as the darlings of the underdogs: the Red Sox were helping the CIA ship suspects to countries where they would be tortured. And, oh, the Red Sox owner was “stunned” by the news. Right.

And it wasn’t a New York paper reporting this:

CIA uses jet, Red Sox partner confirms
‘Stunned’ by report of controversial prisoner transfers
By Gordon Edes, Globe Staff | March 21, 2005

BRADENTON, Fla. — Phillip H. Morse, a minority partner of the Boston Red Sox, confirmed yesterday that his private jet has been chartered to the CIA and said he was aware that it had been flown to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where more than 500 terrorism suspects are held, as well as other overseas destinations.

”It’s chartered a lot,” Morse said by phone from his winter home in Jupiter, Fla. ”It just so happens one of our customers is the CIA.

”I was glad to have the business, actually. I hope it was all for a real good purpose.”

Morse, vice chairman of the Red Sox, has twice lent his plane to the team — in 2003 to fly an injured Johnny Damon from Oakland, Calif., to Boston, and last spring to fly manager Terry Francona to his son’s high school graduation.

But Morse said he was ”stunned” by a published report suggesting that the plane might have been used for special renditions, the controversial practice in which terrorism suspects arrested abroad have been forcibly returned to their native countries for interrogation, sometimes with methods that are barred by US law.

Between June 2002 and January of this year, the plane has flown to Afghanistan, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, Azerbaijan, and the Czech Republic, and made 82 visits to Dulles International Airport outside Washington, according to the Chicago Tribune, which cited records from the Federal Aviation Administration.”

See the rest of the article here. And spread the word.