Some Major League Baseball teams and players are following in the footsteps of the NBA, opting not to play to draw attention to social injustice.
Major League Baseball is starting to follow in the footsteps of the NBA, with the Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnatti Reds deciding not to play Wednesday night to draw attention to social injustice. The Seattle Mariners followed suit. Additionally, Jason Heyward of the Chicago Cubs has decided not to play, even if the rest of his team does.
The Milwaukee Bucks started the trend by refusing to play in their playoff game. Shortly after, the rest of the playoff games slated for Wednesday night were postponed.
The Brewers-Reds, Padres-Mariners, and Giants-Dodgers games have been postponed. It’s possible that other teams will follow suit shortly, but most games scheduled for Wednesday are proceeding as scheduled.
Following the cancellation of the Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds game tonight, more teams are discussing the possibility of not playing, sources tell ESPN. Among those currently discussing it: the Seattle Mariners, who have the most Black players of any team in MLB.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 26, 2020
The Mariners have voted to not play tonight.
Austin Hedges, Tommy Pham and Manny Machado just met with Kyle Seager, Shed Long and Marco Gonzales.— Kevin Acee (@sdutKevinAcee) August 26, 2020
Cubs will play tonight but Jason Heyward will not after taking himself out of lineup following a talk with David Ross.
— Paul Sullivan (@PWSullivan) August 26, 2020
The Giants have post-poned its game tonight against the Dodgers in light of the nationwide boycots. #SFGiants @kron4news
— Jason Dumas (@JDumasReports) August 26, 2020
Additionally, Dee Gordon of the Seattle Mariners took to Twitter to explain why his team voted unanimously not to play Wednesday night.
Instead of watching us, we hope people will focus on the things more important than sports that are happening.
– Dee Strange-Gordon
— Dee Strange-Gordon (@FlashGJr) August 26, 2020
And I would recommend that fans adhere to Gordon’s hope. Take the time away from baseball to educate yourselves on the issues. Understand why it’s so important that players with a platform use it to influence positive social change. Consider the perspectives of people who have lived under different circumstances than you. Be willing to adjust your own point of view on life upon learning new information.
More to come on this developing story.
