David Ortiz wears 'Girl Power' tee in Red Sox pregame with Aly Raisman

The pregame ceremonies for the Boston Red Sox home opener at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts against the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday included a little bit of everything, including an F-16 flyover by the 134th Fighter Squadron in Vermont's Air National Guard.

They even included former Red Sox designated hitter and first baseman David Ortiz breaking out a "Girl Power" shirt. But while this in itself may seem a little bit odd, it made sense given the circumstances.

Ortiz and two-time Olympian Aly Raisman were on the pitcher's mound prior to giving the "Play Ball" command to begin the first game at Fenway Park of the 2018 MLB season, when Ortiz unbuttoned and tore off his Red Sox jersey, revealing a "Girl Power" t-shirt.

Here is a video of this taking place.

Lots of rings and medals right there! pic.twitter.com/Wz1BC0SvE9

— Red Sox (@RedSox) April 5, 2018

The two athletes have become friends over the years. In fact, after competing for the U.S. Women's Gymnastics team in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro Brazil, Raisman threw the first pitch to Ortiz for a Red Sox game against the Kansas City Royals while he wore her numerous medals around his neck.

Kansas City Royals v Boston Red Sox

Ortiz, 42, spent 20 years in the MLB prior to retiring following the conclusion of the 2016 season. His career began in 1997 when he played for the Minnesota Twins, where he stayed through the 2002 season.

In the 2003 season, Ortiz signed with the Red Sox, and he played there until his retirement. Over the course of his 20-year MLB career, he recorded 2,472 hits, 541 home runs, 1,768 runs batted in, and 1,419 runs scored. His career batting average was .286.

But here's why his "Girl Power" shirt made sense.

Raisman, a 23-year-old native of Needham, Massachusetts, was one of more than 260 people who recently accused disgraced former USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University physician Larry Nassar of sexual assault under the guise of medical treatment.

The six-time Olympic medalist was not initially planning to attend or speak at Nassar's sentencing hearing in an Ingham County, Michigan courtroom in the middle of January. However, she ended up deciding to attend and speak after all, and she delivered nothing short of a scathing testimony against the 54-year-old sexual predator.

Here is a brief excerpt of her testimony, taken from the New York Times.

"I didn’t think I would be here today. I was scared and nervous. It wasn’t until I started watching the impact statements from the other brave survivors that I realized, I too, needed to be here. Larry, you do realize now that we, this group of women you so heartlessly abused over such a long a period of time, are now a force and you are nothing. The tables have turned, Larry. We are here, we have our voices, and we are not going anywhere. And now, Larry, it’s your turn to listen to me."

In the first Red Sox game since Raisman and hundreds of others delivered their impact statements against Nassar in court, it was only appropriate to have her shout "Play Ball", and it was also only appropriate for Ortiz to show his support for his friend and for all of the other victims and survivors of sexual assault.

The Fenway Park announcer also stated that Raisman "won even more admiration and respect with her inspiring demonstrations of courage this winter", according to CBS Boston.

That she did.

Much like it was when Jalen Ramsey made his pre-game trash talk comments against the New England Patriots in the AFC championship game during the week Nassar's sentencing in Ingham County was taking place, it is great to see Ortiz going out of his way to show support for a great cause.