On May 25th, George Floyd was murdered in the streets of Minneapolis after being suspected of using a forged $20 bill. Officer Derek Chauvin placed his knee on the back of Floyd’s neck for eight minutes and forty-six seconds, some of which Floyd wasn’t even conscious. Two other officers mounted themselves on Floyd’s body, pinning him to the ground, while one stood beside them and did nothing.
The country has erupted since the event, with protests and riots taking place in every major city, demanding a change to the system and an end to police brutality.
As a country, we need to value all human lives, which we can not do until we value all black lives. The sports world has responded accordingly, especially the NBA. Players such as Jaylen Brown and Malcom Brogdon have taken to the streets to protest in Atlanta and use their platform to advocate for racial justice.
Baseball has a long standing reputation of being one of the least political sports in the country. It has been known as our National Pastime for generations, and pays a great deal of respect to our country and what it stands for. On September 23, 2017 A’s catcher Bruce Maxwell took a knee during the National Anthem, becoming the first MLB player to kneel during the Anthem.
Maxwell is the product of a military family, and has gone on the record to say that he supports the military, respects the National Anthem, and supports the constitution. Regardless of what he said, Maxwell was never seen the same again. Maxwell told the San Francisco Chronicle in 2019 that he received death threats, despite the fact that he took a knee more than two years before the article was published.
Maxwell is an unfortunate example of an underlying issue within baseball: a sport with a shrinking African American population and fan base and a growing number of racial incidents. In 2016, Steve Clevenger of the Mariners called the Black Lives Matter movement “pathetic” and stated that “Everyone involved should be locked behind bars like animals”
In 2017, then Oriole Adam Jones told reporters that he had peanuts thrown at him and was called racial slurs by a crowd in Boston. Umpire Rob Drake tweeted during the presidential impeachment process, calling for a “second civil war”. Cubs’ reliever Carl Edwards Jr. dealt with racist messages being sent to him in 2019 during a rough stretch for the reliever. The list of incidents continues to grow by the year, and unfortunately, there appears to be no action by MLB to slow it down.
There have been incidents even as recent as this week where a fan on twitter related the Houston Astros to the KKK in response to an Alex Bregman tweet regarding the KKK. The tweet from the fan has since been deleted due to the user deleting their account.
Baseball has struggled with the African American community for some time now. According to USA Today, as of 2019’s Jackie Robinson Day (April 15th), MLB had a 7.7% African-American population, a total of 68 players out of 882 on Opening Day rosters, players that are restricted/suspended, or on injured lists. Eleven teams did not have a single African-American player on their roster at this point.
The rate of black players in MLB continues to drop over the years, going from 18.7% in 1981 to less than 8% in 2019. This has not always been an issue for baseball. The 1989 All-Star Rosters alone featured 15 African-Americans, including the likes of Darryl Strawberry, Kevin Mitchell, Barry Larkin, Tony Gwynn Jr.,Willie Randolph, Andre Dawson, and Bo Jackson, among others.
Even as far as front offices show a lack of diversity. There is only one black general manager in baseball, Mike Hill of the Miami Marlins. The issue for MLB runs deeper than just their league and into the college game. According to NPR, there are 10,500 Division I baseball players, only 6% of which are black.
Multi-National athletic companies such as Nike and Reebok have spoken out in support for the African-American community, and Reebok powerfully stated on their website “Without the black community, Reebok would not exist. America would not exist.”
Sports leagues such as the NFL and NBA, through the Coaches Association, have released statements regarding the death of Floyd and offered support for their players who are protesting and have committed to working towards change. MLB has said nothing.
The Miami Marlins were the first team to release a statement regarding the state of the country, and did so through the voice of Derek Jeter. Jeter’s father is African-American, and the former Yankee is one of the few African-American owners in American professional sports.
Jeter’s statement was powerful and well worded, and he included the fear he has for the younger generation, saying “I hope that my children and nephews don’t have to live in a society where people are unjustly treated because of the color of their skin”.
The Mets released a short statement on Sunday, saying “Queens, NY is one of the most diverse areas in our country. We take pride on our diversity, it is our strength. This is why we denounce all forms of racism and discrimination. We stand with our state, our city, and community. We hope to be part of change in our society.”
The Mets’ statement is full of empty words, and offers no real consolation or comfort for the African-American community. The Mets followed the format of “We at *Enter Brand Here* stand with *Enter Community Here*. We denounce all forms of *Enter Injustice Here*. We strive to work with *Enter Aforementioned Community Here* to make our community, city, country, and world a better place”.
The statement does not once mention the name George Floyd, the terms “Black”, “African-American”, “Protests”, or “Black Lives Matter”, or the city of Minneapolis. That is shameful.
Mets players such as Pete Alonso and Marcus Stroman, who has been very active on his personal twitter account, have made statements on their own.
Even Bobby Valentine released a stronger statement than his former employer via his twitter account, saying: “I am 70. I walked in protests. I have smelled the smoke from riots! I am saddened and angered my generation and others have not solved this problem. I am ready to give it another shot! Let s do it right together THIS time.”
The MLB has not made any form of statement regarding the death of George Floyd, the protests sweeping the nation, police brutality, racial injustice, or anything of the sort. Players and organizations have made statements on their own, but Rob Manfred and the MLB continue to be silent. In times like these, silence is compliance.
The country is fighting for the lives of innocent black men, women, and kids from coast to coast. In times of turmoil and injustice, those with the platform to do so should speak up for the right cause and for justice. It’s imperative that those with a platform should speak up for racial justice, an end to police brutality, and to honor the life of not only George Floyd, but every innocent and unarmed black person who has been murdered on the streets of our towns and cities. A statement is the start. Pledge your support. Then, go into the communities and be the hands and feet of change.
Baseball has several African-American superstars, such as Tim Anderson, Mookie Betts, Aaron Judge, Mike Stanton, Marcus Stroman, Andrew McCutchen, and prospects who are destined to be impact players at the highest levels, including Jo Adell and Justin Dunn.
MLB has had a long standing relationship with the military, police departments, and has been one of the more patriotic sports leagues. With that sort of platform, they can work to bring communities together, and mend the divide in our country.
They can also promote their African-American stars, create more interest within the African-American community, and prove to be a league of diversity. Until the MLB can do that, there will always be a shadow cast over the league, and the sport as a whole. They can change this narrative, and it starts with supporting African-Americans who are protesting for their lives.
If Nickelodeon can take an eight minute and forty-six second break from their programming to project a black screen that read and declared that all children have the right to live their life, regardless of skin color, the least MLB can do is release a statement supporting those who are protesting to make sure they aren’t the next innocent African-Americans murdered for no reason.
But they haven’t. They continue to stay silent, and their silence is deafening, The protests aren’t going to end over night. MLB will have many opportunities in the coming weeks, months, and years, to make a difference in African-American communities, and make real progress in society. Until then, silence is all we have to attribute to the league.
We were all taught in grade school that if we saw someone getting bullied, we were supposed to tell the teacher, because no one should get bullied. If we don’t, we got in trouble. Why? Because we let it happen when we could have done something to stop it. Did you bully them? No. But did you do anything to stop it? No. You let it continue happen. This is the foundation of the lesson that silence is compliance.
You don’t have to be black to support the Black Lives Matter movement. One cannot say that “All Lives Matter” until Black Lives Matter. The best metaphor I’ve heard on the subject goes as follows: If San Francisco is hit by an earthquake, a natural response would be to pray for the city of San Francisco. To this sentiment, someone retorts “well, shouldn’t we pray for ALL cities?”. The answer to this is yes, pray for all cities, but right now, San Francisco was destroyed in an earthquake, and needs our prayers more. There are prayers for every city, and you don’t need to stop praying for your city in order to pray for San Francisco. Black Lives Matter does not mean that only black lives matter, but that black lives need to matter the same as all other lives.
Major League Baseball has a chance to help the country move forward in the fight to end systemic racism and support the Black Lives Matter movement, just as the NBA is doing and has done for years. The difference between the NBA and the MLB is that the MLB has said and done nothing. They have stayed silent. The MLB needs to offer their support to the African-American community and the Black Lives Matter movement. Baseball is a game for everyone, regardless of age, race, ethnicity, religion, gender, or sexual orientation. MLB needs to prove this point, and prove that baseball is a game of inclusion. They have been given another chance to do so starting on May 25th. I can only hope that they take advantage of this opportunity.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu is attributed with the quote “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” These words have never rung more true. MLB owes it to themselves, their players both past and present, and the African-American community to speak up. MLB needs to do better.
