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Summary[]

Meg Rowley is joined by the New York Daily News’ Bradford William Davis and Baseball Prospectus’ Shakeia Taylor to discuss Major League Baseball’s response to the police killing of George Floyd and the recent Black Lives Matter protests, why the league’s statements have been so wanting, whether teams have a role to play — both in their communities and in their clubhouses — in conversations about systemic racism, players’ increased willingness to support BLM publicly, some concrete steps MLB should be taking to make baseball more accessible to Black players and fans, and how the media should engage with players around activism and questions of social justice, police brutality, and racism. Plus, Shakeia and Bradford share their thoughts on the strange, short season of baseball we’re about to see.

Topics[]

  • MLB's response to Black Lives Matter and the killing of George Floyd
  • Reaction to team and league statements
  • The value of player statements
  • How to effectively cover race and racism
  • How media can talk with players about racism
  • Why do non-Black people care now? What changed?
  • Where can MLB go from here?
  • How baseball can be more welcoming to Black fans and players
  • Concerns with MLB social media
  • What role teams have to educate players and staff
  • Are you excited for a 60-game schedule?

Notes[]

  • Shakeia and Bradford shared disappointment in MLB and team statements about the killing of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protests. Both highlighted the length of time it took for a statement (9 days) in addition to the lack of a plan or action the league would be taking to address issues of systemic racism.
  • In an effort to attract more Black fans and players, Bradford would like to see MLB publicly consider it's relationship with law enforcement (Shakeia also adds the military to this) and invest in low-income and Black communities in the US at the same level they do in foreign countries.
  • Meg notes that Ed Howard, a Black player, was the only player drafted in the recent MLB draft who was asked in his interview with ESPN about Black Lives Matter and the recent protests.
  • Shakeia would like to see media ask more non-Black players how they feel about race and racism, in part with the hopes that it will spur more to action.
  • Bradford and Shakeia comment that league and team social media accounts display "social media blackface".

Links[]

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