Athletes are forcing difficult discussions to be had. People who otherwise wouldn’t are going to listen. Hopefully some will even change their minds. ✍️: ShiDavidi
“Stick to sports” is a pejorative that gets hurled at everyone in and around this industry all too often, and there’s certainly a comfort in doing just that. For athletes who are creatures of habit and slaves to routine, upending the careers they’ve grinded and sacrificed for to make the general public take note of racial injustice and police brutality is well outside the comfort zone.
“Our role is first and foremost to make sure that the dialogue continues and that players feel supported, and they have what they need,”GM Ross Atkins said Thursday when asked what his baseball team should be doing in these troubled times. “And then I think the second potential aspect of that is how can we as an organization help? How can we make the situation better internally, externally? What we’re focused on is learning. We’re focused on how we can do a better job.
As a Puerto Rican who’s been in professional baseball since 1987, Montoyo himself has “been a victim of racism,” citing taunts of “Mexican, go home” as merely one example of the bigotry he’s faced. “I know some players have also been victims of racial discrimination,” he added, which is why “if a player wants to use his platform to make a statement about racial injustice, I fully support that.”
“Initially, they were willing to play,” Montoyo said of his players, “but once we got word that JBJ and the Red Sox made their decision not to play, then we fully supported them.” That’s why as much as the Blue Jays have extended the internal discussions about systemic racism that started during the pandemic shutdown, and have continued with roundtables set up under Anima Leadership, a consultancy firm hired to guide their efforts, there’s more to be done. Atkins said he’s come to realize that he doesn’t think about the issues often enough, and while that may sound trite, his reasoning underscores why athletes using their platform is vital.
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