Silence is NOT golden
While major league baseball sputters along trying to figure out whether to have a season, let me turn briefly to football and say this: If I were an NFL owner, the first thing I would do is hire Colin Kaepernick to be my quarterback. Not because he’s necessarily the best quarterback available but rather because of what he stands for — or kneels for: to protest police brutality.
My hometown is Minneapolis where another knee made headlines, one belonging to a cop who snuffed out the life of George Floyd.
What’s encouraging is that this despicable crime is prompting people to speak out, including NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell who has always been in lock-step with team owners who oppose kneeling. Although he didn’t mention Kaepernick by name, Goodell did issue his strongest support yet for players seeking to fight racism and police brutality. He apologized for not listening to the concerns of African-Americans and said he supports the players’ rights to protest peacefully.
As far as baseball goes, even if there’s no season, it’s given players time to reflect on things more important than pitch counts and batting averages. Baseball players are generally a conservative lot; they usually don’t make waves when it comes to politics and social issues. Jackie Robinson, however, is “safe;” it’s easy to wear #42 on your jersey and think you’ve done something to change the world. But for most it’s just a gesture — a safe one.
George Floyd’s murder, however, has changed everything. Gestures are no longer enough, said Cleveland Indians centerfielder Delino DeSchields. “I think if you have any kind of platform and you don’t say anything at all, then it’s a waste of time.”
Three years ago, DeShields was with the Texas Rangers when Bruce Maxwell of the A’s called him and said he was going to follow Kaepernick’s lead and take a knee during the national anthem. Maxwell added that DeSchields shouldn’t feel any pressure to do the same. DeSchields decided against kneeling “but I immediately regretted it. Throughout the whole game, I kept thinking about how I felt — like I was selling out. It messed me up for a bit but I learned my lesson. I’m not selling out to nobody no more.”
White Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito isn’t either. “I can no longer sit idly by,” he said. “I’ll be the first to admit that in years past, stories would come out and I’d be very sad. I would try to show my support in the best way I knew at the time [but it wasn’t enough]. When the video of George Floyd came out, it opened a lot of people’s eyes. Myself included. I want to be on the right side of history and be an advocate for positive change.”
And then there’s Hank Aaron. If you haven’t read Mike Lupica’s June 6 column for MLB.com, do so. Lupica called him a couple of days ago to ask what he thought about America and what he sees on television in the shadow of George Floyd’s death.
“I’m scared,” Aaron said, this from a man who was never afraid of anything “I’m scared because what I’m seeing reminds me of things that I have told my grandchildren. I didn’t want to tell them [about the things I went through] but I had to tell them, about being skeptical and being afraid, and to obey everybody.”
He was referring to the hate and racism he suffered while trying to pass Babe Ruth’s home run record. “I did what I had to do and tried to conduct myself with dignity and strength.”
But today it’s a little different. A chump named Trump is now in charge and the police are coming on like a second pandemic.
“Something is so wrong in our country,” Aaron said. “There’s no question that people listen to athletes and athletes need to speak out. Some of them have bigger voices than others but whether they’re white or black I want them to use those voices. Use the money they have, of course, but use those voices.”
Some of what he’s seen on television gladdens his heart. Not the violence and ugliness but the peaceful demonstrations. “I see kids out there. I see black and white, but I see those kids. You know where the social change everybody’s talking about is going to come from? It’s going to come from them. They’re the ones who are going to make the change we need in this country.”
I remember meeting Aaron in 1978 at Yankee Stadium when he was with Milwaukee and I was a young correspondent for CBS News. He’d agreed to an interview but I don’t remember what I asked or what he said. What I do remember was the size of his wrists and how he nearly broke my hand when we shook hands. He was so strong and now stronger than ever.
Aaron is now 85.
“I’m not able to move around much anymore. But if I could, I’d be out there marching with those kids. I’d be right there at the front of the line.”
