On Thursday, Major League Baseball players in the league will continue to protest against racial injustice after the shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, by police. The Oakland Athletics and Texas Rangers were the first teams to announce they will not play Thursday, and at least 10 additional teams followed.
Athletics has released the following statement:
Social injustice and systemic racism have long been part of the fabric of our lives. We have a responsibility to use our platform, to lend our voices to those who are not heard.
We must continue the awkward talks and work towards a unified force for change.
These talks will push the boundaries and enable us to move forward with influential results.
All too often we hear about the fate of our neighbor and we fail to act. It is a long time ago that these communities were heard, seen, understood and supported.
We will not take the field tonight to help raise awareness for these social issues, not just tonight, but for our collective future. This is the first step in our relentless pursuit of meaningful change.
“We respect the decision by the Oakland A players to postpone tonight’s game,” the Rangers said in a statement. “We stand with all those who condemn racial injustice and commit themselves to helping put an end to systemic racism.”
In addition to the Athletics vs. Rangers, at least four other MLB games will not be played on Thursday:
“The Minnesota Twins remain committed to using our platforms to strive for racial justice and equality,” the Twins wrote in a statement. “Therefore, we fully respect our players for their decision not to play tonight’s game against the Detroit Tigers. The recent shooting of Jacob Blake, just three months after the assassination of George Floyd, shows once again that real change is needed and far too late in our country, and it is our responsibility to play a role in efforts to influence meaningful reform.We stand in solidarity with the Black community and, as full partners with others in the Twin Cities and beyond, we are “Committed to making the change we want to see in the world – where everyone is protected, safe and welcome. There is no place for racism, inequality or injustice in our society.”
On Wednesday night, three Major League Baseball games – Brewers vs. Reds, Dodgers vs. Giants, Mariners vs. Padres – were postponed when players joined their NBA brothers to protest racial injustice in America. Individual players like Jason Heyward and Matt Kemp sat out their games.
“I would tell them to go with their heart,” Phillies manager Joe Girardi told reporters, including Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer, when asked about Wednesday’s protests. “Feelings are feelings. They are never right or wrong. They are just feelings. You have to go with your heart and what your heart tells you. I would support them with what they did.”
“Full support for it,” said Red Sox fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. when asked about the protests, according to Christopher Smith of MassLive.com. “Of course things will get a lot closer to location. Of course it also touches a lot closer to the African-American way. That there are feelings. There are a lot of things that go on and a lot of things that you talk about. to think. ”
Bradley apparently made the decision not to play in Thursday night’s game somehow, reports ESPN’s Marly Rivera. He has been the driving force behind the team’s possible protest.
“I’m the only Black person on this team,” Bradley said, according to Smith. “That I feel like it’s my responsibility to address it in certain situations, just so people can see what I feel and the things I think about. I can take it over.”
Bradley added that the Red Sox did not have a team meeting to discuss Wednesday’s game because they were already on the field and began to warm up by the time Brewers players chose to sit out their game. He said he talked to manager Ron Roenicke and catcher Kevin Plawecki about things ahead of Wednesday’s game.
Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo told reporters, including the Associated Press, the team will “talk to the players” about the protests. “We will discuss it and see where we go with this,” he added.
There were originally 15 games on Thursday’s schedule, including four doubles. Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic reports MLB and the MLBPA spoke Thursday morning to discuss players’ protests.
