The Red Sox have taken some flak for their rocky start in this young season, and I’m about to pile on. It’s about the pelvic thrust hit celebration. I’ll say up front that I don’t care about being “family friendly” or anything like that. Here are my issues with it.
It’s not okay with female fans
I have lost a large amount of enthusiasm for the 2026 team since I first saw that celebration. It’s made it difficult for me to watch my beloved team.
Why do women dislike this particular display of testosterone? In case it needs explaining, I can tell you that most girls and women have surely lost count of the number of times a guy (a stranger, classmate, coworker, the friend of a friend at a party, the list goes on) has thrust his pelvis in her direction. I mean without an invitation and outside of a dance-floor context. It starts early, it’s aggressive, and it’s not funny.
For a moment I had an idea to ask other female fans about the Red Sox hit celebration and publish their thoughts and reactions. The first person I asked said she was grateful that the hit celebration wasn’t [redacted: truly obscene gesture that women are uniquely subjected to, involving two fingers and flashing tongue]. She had a point, and I dropped the idea after that.
Aren’t female fans entitled to more than a pathetic level of gratitude that things aren’t worse? Why do women have to pay this price to watch and try to enjoy men’s professional sports?
It’s weak
It’s nowhere near the same league as some of the Red Sox earlier hit (and home run) celebrations. The airplane wings celebration was unique, hilarious, and a little weird. It served as a rallying point after that turbulent flight. The monster hands and the hip shimmy were fun. There’s more leeway with home run celebrations, since they’re not confined to the bag, and the Sox have really showed the depth of their creativity with those. The laundry cart and Wally head are classics. Putting on the medals from the Boston Marathon and Alex Cora’s 5K were meaningful and sweet celebrations. If they put their minds to it, I’m sure the current team can come up with something just as great.
It’s unsportsmanlike
In the NFL, that is. Rico Dowdle of the Carolina Panthers was given a 15-yard penalty and fined almost $15,000 in November 2025 for a similar celebration. It’s unusual to find myself in alignment with the NFL, but sometimes the enemy of your enemy is your friend. Kudos to DeMarcus Lawrence of the Seattle Seahawks for trying to come up with acceptable alternatives! Here’s his discussion with the referee in November 2025 about that.
Note that the ref replied, “As long as you don’t give me that motion [offers light pelvic thrust for clarity], I’m okay with that one [the suggested alternative].”
It’s unoriginal
It’s a little tired at this point! The celebration is based on a 2013 skit from Key & Peele. NFL players have been working with this source material for years. The list includes Lance Moore in 2013, Von Miller in 2015, Aaron Rodgers and others in 2020. It was back in the pop culture spotlight again in 2025 because of Dowdle. Why are the 2026 Red Sox rehashing something from the last NFL season? Can’t the Red Sox find something fresh to do on the field? [Insert joke here about their poor start to the 2026 season. Go ahead, I’ll wait.]
This charmless celebration leaves me in the difficult position of rooting for it to be replaced due to a sustained losing streak or more flight turbulence. Don’t put me in that position, Sox.
[Author’s note: This being said, it appeared by Friday’s home opener that the celebration is undergoing alterations. Marcelo Mayer performed an abbreviated version that toned down the pelvic thrusting, and devoted more time and energy to a two-handed pointing gesture toward the dugout. It was an improvement.]
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