https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/...0200722-6ya73gb6zfduzgjg7psdqt5sjq-story.html
MLB’s newfound anthem kneeling needs to lead to a permanent shift in message
By BRADFORD WILLIAM DAVIS
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |
Major League Baseball, a business too busy valorizing sepia-toned history to participate in a meaningful discussion on racial injustice, is undergoing the delicate task of engaging an audience and workforce jolted by the police killing of George Floyd. A wide and multi-racial crosssection of league personnel and supporters are finally entertaining the possibility that all these viral videos and hashtags weren’t isolated flare-ups, but depict the ever-present danger for huge swaths of the country.
Reminding people that Jackie Robinson used to work here is suddenly insufficient. Anti-racism must, somehow, become part of the brand without dismantling the business.
With that in mind: Players and coaches across baseball, white and Black, are kneeling on the third rail just as it began losing its charge. Since Monday night, Colin Kaepernick’s famous national anthem kneel has been modeled across baselines in San Francisco, Cincinnati and Anaheim. Aaron Judge, the league’s most prominent Black player, says the Yankees are discussing a demonstration when they play the Nationals on Opening Day Thursday night in Washington D.C.
“We’ll definitely discuss it going into Thursday,” Judge said Tuesday. “And what I thought of [MLB players kneeling]? That’s the beauty of America. It’s freedom of speech and freedom to express yourself. We’ve got a special platform being athletes, and being able to speak our mind and speak what’s going on in this world.”
The acts themselves are notable, but just as significant was the endorsement of the league, revealed through their social media platform — replete with Twitter’s #blacklivesmatter hashtag — despite the minor revolt from an audience the league had cultivated.
MLB appeared to defend the protest, but in truth disarmed it. Replying to the minor revolt of fans betrayed by their favorite sport becoming too political, the league replied: “Supporting human rights is not political.” To other frustrated fans bothered by their actions, they said the demonstration “has never been about the military or the flag. The players and coaches are using their platforms to peacefully protest.” (Protest what exactly? Well that’s for you to decide.)
Detaching race from the grime and gore of politics is comforting for two groups of people: those who believe they have nothing to gain (and everything to lose) from political action, and first graders.
“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses Black people and people of color,” said Kaepernick back in 2016. “To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”
Kaepernick’s demonstration was undergirded by the inherent dignity of Black people — which obviously transcends any man-made political struggle — but his action also subverted a state-sanctioned status quo. The former Niners quarterback confronted a country failing to live up to its values — or maybe its brand — identified in its foundational political texts and was blackballed for it.
If that’s true, as blind as MLB’s critics are to the opposite side of the coin, daily veneration of the American flag even in stadiums without fans — they were still more honest than the league. Like many of its pro sports contemporaries, baseball hesitates to verbalize exactly how or why George Floyd died.
Can a company support Black lives while opposing tangible measures that benefit Black people, especially those that don’t suit up for them?
A recent Washington Post-ABC News poll found that most Americans say they back the Black Lives Matter movement and even believe that Black people are treated unfairly by the criminal justice system. But the poll also found that most people don’t believe in reducing police budgets for social services. MLB might be more ahead of the curve than I realized.
We’re probably going to see more kneeling around the league in 2020. But many of the players on their knees need more than a gesture for themselves and their communities when they leave the field.
Because, if the once-provocative assertion that Black lives matter and the interconnected protest against the specific violence of policing can become depoliticized, the league can launder the language of “racial injustice” towards any end. Baseball is well acquainted with shuffling positions for a moment to improve their defense before returning everyone back to normal. Our moment requires a permanent shift.
MLB’s newfound anthem kneeling needs to lead to a permanent shift in message
By BRADFORD WILLIAM DAVIS
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |
Major League Baseball, a business too busy valorizing sepia-toned history to participate in a meaningful discussion on racial injustice, is undergoing the delicate task of engaging an audience and workforce jolted by the police killing of George Floyd. A wide and multi-racial crosssection of league personnel and supporters are finally entertaining the possibility that all these viral videos and hashtags weren’t isolated flare-ups, but depict the ever-present danger for huge swaths of the country.
Reminding people that Jackie Robinson used to work here is suddenly insufficient. Anti-racism must, somehow, become part of the brand without dismantling the business.
With that in mind: Players and coaches across baseball, white and Black, are kneeling on the third rail just as it began losing its charge. Since Monday night, Colin Kaepernick’s famous national anthem kneel has been modeled across baselines in San Francisco, Cincinnati and Anaheim. Aaron Judge, the league’s most prominent Black player, says the Yankees are discussing a demonstration when they play the Nationals on Opening Day Thursday night in Washington D.C.
“We’ll definitely discuss it going into Thursday,” Judge said Tuesday. “And what I thought of [MLB players kneeling]? That’s the beauty of America. It’s freedom of speech and freedom to express yourself. We’ve got a special platform being athletes, and being able to speak our mind and speak what’s going on in this world.”
The acts themselves are notable, but just as significant was the endorsement of the league, revealed through their social media platform — replete with Twitter’s #blacklivesmatter hashtag — despite the minor revolt from an audience the league had cultivated.
MLB appeared to defend the protest, but in truth disarmed it. Replying to the minor revolt of fans betrayed by their favorite sport becoming too political, the league replied: “Supporting human rights is not political.” To other frustrated fans bothered by their actions, they said the demonstration “has never been about the military or the flag. The players and coaches are using their platforms to peacefully protest.” (Protest what exactly? Well that’s for you to decide.)
Detaching race from the grime and gore of politics is comforting for two groups of people: those who believe they have nothing to gain (and everything to lose) from political action, and first graders.
“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses Black people and people of color,” said Kaepernick back in 2016. “To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”
Kaepernick’s demonstration was undergirded by the inherent dignity of Black people — which obviously transcends any man-made political struggle — but his action also subverted a state-sanctioned status quo. The former Niners quarterback confronted a country failing to live up to its values — or maybe its brand — identified in its foundational political texts and was blackballed for it.
If that’s true, as blind as MLB’s critics are to the opposite side of the coin, daily veneration of the American flag even in stadiums without fans — they were still more honest than the league. Like many of its pro sports contemporaries, baseball hesitates to verbalize exactly how or why George Floyd died.
Can a company support Black lives while opposing tangible measures that benefit Black people, especially those that don’t suit up for them?
A recent Washington Post-ABC News poll found that most Americans say they back the Black Lives Matter movement and even believe that Black people are treated unfairly by the criminal justice system. But the poll also found that most people don’t believe in reducing police budgets for social services. MLB might be more ahead of the curve than I realized.
We’re probably going to see more kneeling around the league in 2020. But many of the players on their knees need more than a gesture for themselves and their communities when they leave the field.
Because, if the once-provocative assertion that Black lives matter and the interconnected protest against the specific violence of policing can become depoliticized, the league can launder the language of “racial injustice” towards any end. Baseball is well acquainted with shuffling positions for a moment to improve their defense before returning everyone back to normal. Our moment requires a permanent shift.
