After Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem on Aug. 26, several NFL players followed suit this past weekend. While the NFL and its fans are at odds over the situation, MLB players have remained silent.
Of the nearly 860 active and injured Major League Baseball players at any given moment, around eight percent identify as African American. The percentage of Latino players is around 30 percent, while Asian players make up just under two percent of the league.
Meanwhile, white players account for roughly 60 percent of the league’s players, according to the 2016 Racial and Gender Report Card by Dr. Richard Lapchick of The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports at the University of Central Florida. There were just 69 African Americans listed on Opening Day rosters and the disabled list this year.
The NFL, on the other hand, has nearly 1,200 players – 68 percent of which are African American. With the negative response directed toward Kaepernick, MLB players would be notably concerned to show their support.
In the NBA, nearly 74 percent of its players are African American. While some African American MLB players may be quietly pledging their support, none have publicly said so.
Baltimore Orioles All-Star outfielder Adam Jones spoke to USA Today about the subject, saying that MLB would be able to survive without African American players.
“We already have two strikes against us already,’’ Jones said, “so you might as well not kick yourself out of the game. In football, you can’t kick them out. You need those players. In baseball, they don’t need us.
The 31-year-old put it simply. “Baseball is a white man’s sport.’’
Jones, who is one of the more vocal African-American players in MLB, was vocal in his displeasure for those against Kaepernick’s actions.
“At the end of the day, if you don’t respect his freedoms, then why the hell are we Americans? It’s supposed to be the Land of the Free, right?’’ Jones said. He continued by discussing the first amendment and what the American flag represents in modern America.
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“Kaepernick is not disrespecting the military. He’s not disrespecting people who they’re fighting. What he’s doing is showing that he doesn’t like the social injustice that the flag represents,” he said.
“It’s crazy how when people of color speak up, we’re always ridiculed. But when people that are not of color speak up, it’s their right.”
“The First Amendment says we have freedom of expression. We’re supposed to be so free, so free. But any time anybody of color speaks up in the United States, for some odd reason, they always get the raw end of the deal. It sucks.”
“At the end of the day, black men have fought for this right. Indians have fought for this right. White people fought for this right. Mexicans have fought for this right. Japanese have fought this for this right. The United States was not just made up of one race,” Jones said.
Last week, Jones received the Orioles’ nomination for the Roberto Clemente Award, which recognizes players for community involvement and philanthropy.
Jones went on to discuss how communities outside of the sports world typically don’t want to hear what athletes have to say.
“We make a lot of money, so we just have to talk baseball, talk football. But most athletes, especially if you’re tenured in your sport, you’re educated on life, and on more things than most people on the outside,” Jones said. “But because Donald Trump is a billionaire, he can say whatever he wants, because he’s older and has more money?”
When Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier nearly 70 years ago, it signaled a fundamental change in the sports world, and to a greater extent, the nation. But still, African American athletes still have to approach everything they do with caution.
And the inequality stems from Little League, where young African Americans are being driven out of the game due to rising costs of equipment and high travel fees.
Pittsburgh Pirates All-Star outfielder Andrew McCutchen wrote about the struggles for young African American baseball players in the Players’ Tribune, where he noted his own issues in learning the game.
McCutchen discussed the dilemma many young players face when looking into playing baseball.
“The hard choices started when I was very young. Do you want that video game system for Christmas, or do you want a new baseball bat?”
With the cost to play football and basketball at a beginner level relatively low, children are often directed toward those sports. The question for many parents is simple. Would they rather pay for a basketball and shoes; or a glove, cleats, bat, helmet, pads and baseballs?
The answer for many is fairly simple.
As the MLB season winds down and the postseason approaches, the spotlight is on for a player to show their support.
ESPN noted that Jones’ father and brother have both served in the military, and he says he will always stand for the national anthem. But he says a player could sit out for “The Star-Spangled Banner”.
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“No one has done it, yet,’’ Jones said. “But that’s the key word here: Yet.”