In this space, I usually share a few jokes and link to some of the pieces I’ve worked on in other internet places.



But things aren’t so funny right now. And my voice is not one we need to be listening to.

Black lives have been treated as less than for the entire history of this country. We’ve seen that from the very first moment that the United States became a country. We’ve seen that in the cases of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Eric Garner, Stephon Clark, Philando Castile, and so many more, going on for far too long. We’ve seen that in our laws and our communities, in the redlining of suburbs and how, even now, black-owned businesses struggle to get approval for necessary payroll protection loans. There are two realities in this world, and your access and safety depend so heavily on the color of your skin.

So, rather than link to my work, I wanted to share the words of black players from the past few weeks. These are the voices that have been ignored or pushed aside to make people who look like me feel comfortable for far too long.



Gary Sheffield recently penned a piece in the Players Tribune about the racism and police brutality that he suffered first hand, and which – during his playing career – few wanted to hear about.

“So I ask you: ​Now​ do you believe me? Because I stood alone then. But we stand together now – and that’s why I’m sharing my stories.For black people, these injustices are nothing new. But for white people, people of privilege, this is revelatory. Their eyes have been forced open to view life through the same harsh lens as a person of color.”



The Mets’ Dominic Smith shared on Twitter how racism has impacted every day of his life, and that “Silence Kills.”

“As a black man in America you encounter racism on every level. Your parents prep you for it. They prep you for routine police stops. They prep you on how to talk to people with respect. When you have one strike against you [your skin color] you have to make the people you come across like you, and you do it with respect, with a smile, with love.”

Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, Jackie Bradley Jr, Andrew McCutchen, CC Sabathia and more black MLB players came together to release a video where the players shared in one very important message:

“We’ve been told that our peaceful pleas were not made at the right time, in the right place, in the right way. We’ve been told to wait, but we remember when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. warned us that the word wait has almost always meant never. We will wait no longer. We will make our voices louder. For all of us who can, and for all of those who could not.”

Braves Minor Leaguer Trey Harris joined the Effectively Wild podcast to talk about what it’s like to be black in America and in baseball, and the additional barriers players of color have to cross. Listen here.

Royals Minor Leaguer Nick Heath and Johns Hopkins third baseman Matt Ritchie went on the Baseball BBQ podcast to discuss the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, as well as how baseball can do a better job at being a more diverse and welcoming sport. Click here to listen.



Negro Leagues museum curator Ray Doswell recently gave an interview highlighting how far we’ve come, but also how far we still have to go.

“It’s important to understand the history of it because none of these issues are new. These things have been happening for many, many decades. So you’ll come here and you’ll see some things that are mostly triumphant, but you’ll see some things that you don’t like, that should make you uncomfortable. Because it wasn’t comfortable for those who had to go through it. And I hope that we’re not overly romanticizing the story (of the Negro Leagues) too much. We’re probably guilty of some of that. But there are folks who come in and get a sobering look at least at what that part of the story is, from roughly 1860 to 1960, and how that leads to the rest of the story.”

In The Athletic, retired baseball players including Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, Dontrelle Willis, Doug Glanville, and Torii Hunter got together on a call to share their experiences. It’s a sobering look at just how different these worlds are, and it all comes down to if you’re black or white.

Jimmy Rollins said:

“Obviously, our white counterparts, they have a completely different view. They don’t have to grow up having that talk — and we all know what that talk is. They don’t have to get in a car, drive down the street knowing I didn’t do anything wrong, but this cop has been behind me for two blocks, something’s about to happen. They don’t have those fears. And every time something like this happens, as a player, you know exactly what is going on. When you get in the clubhouse, you do look at your counterparts, they’re going about their day as if nothing happened. And you’ve got three or four guys in the clubhouse looking at each other like, “Man. You see that? You know what that’s about. What can we do?” Then it’s four versus 21. It makes you a little uncomfortable.”

Negro Leagues President Bob Kendrick moderated a discussion on race in baseball with Josh Bell, Lorenzo Cain, Mychal Givens, Dwight Smith Jr., Taylor Hearn, and Delino DeShields Jr. Click here to view it. (I’ll also embed it at the bottom of the post.)

Jack Flaherty posted his thoughts on the ongoing police violence against black communities:

“The system continues to fail time and time again and nothing seems to change. Officers are not being held accountable for their actions. The badge and blue uniform are not a pedestal that puts a citizen of the United States of America above the law. The badge and blue uniform are there to distinguish those who are meant to PROTECT their communities, not terrorize and kill those that are meant to protect and serve. That being said, not all police officers are bad, but those who are not bad need to be speaking up about the injustices. Your voice needs to be heard. Your silence is speaking just as loud.“

If you’ve been out there protesting, stay safe. And if you haven’t, I hope you’ve done what you can, from reading, listening and supporting black voices to donating money.

Organizations that I’ve donated to include the Brooklyn Bail Fund, Black Lives Matter, and Black Visions Collective. But things have changed recently and there may be better places where your money can do more good at this moment. Here’s a piece from Vox that might help.

