NFL
By: Zachary Draves
History develops in the most unexpected moments.
This is one of those moments and then some.
After public pressure began to build and hints of discussions, MLB officially announced that they were pulling the All-Star out of the state of Georgia in response to the law SB 202 signed by the governor that drastically restricts the right to vote and opens the door to the will of the people being overrun.
Here is the statement put forward by MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred:
(Courtesy: ABC21)
It is worth mentioning that this law was conceived and ultimately passed as a backlash against the historic levels of turnout and organizing during the November and January elections.
This law gives ammunition to the insurrectionist crowd who falsely believe the election was stolen.
As a result, those same grassroots organizers had boots on the ground again and put corporations such as MLB on their heels to speak up and stand on the right side of history.
They are the ones who deserve the credit for this move.
This is people’s power at its best.
As for MLB, this move is on par with previous decisions by the NFL, NBA, and NCAA who didn’t host their celebratory events in states that had certain laws on the books that explicitly violate human rights and human dignity.
The NFL pulled the 1993 Super Bowl out of Arizona after the state refused to make MLK Day an official holiday.
In 2017, the NBA pulled the All-Star Game out of North Carolina after the state introduced a vicious bathroom law that criminalizes the transgender community.
For 15 years, the NCAA banned South Carolina from hosting sanctioned championship events due to their state flag that had a confederate flag emblem.
Going forward, this moment should force the MLB to have a reckoning when it comes to their shall we say mixed record on issues of race.
For too long, MLB has often shielded themselves behind Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron, and other prominent black players as a means of avoiding the issue given the vast racial inequities in fandom and participation, while conventionally whitewashing and watering down the legacies of these men.
Both Jackie and Hank were unapologetically outspoken and weren’t the least bit shy about holding the feet of MLB to the fire when it came to race.
Don’t forget, before Jackie passed away in 1972 he gave his famous farewell speech at that year’s World Series in Cincinnati where he said that the proudest day of his life would be seeing a black manager in baseball.
(Courtesy: Youtube)
Hank tirelessly advocated for more black general managers and upper management personnel including pushing for the first black MLB owner.
Speaking of Hank, they were supposed to honor him during the All-Star game in Georgia but it begs the question, how can you properly honor this man and have this particular law on the books that will have a disproportionate impact on black voters?
Dr. Louis Moore, Professor of History at Grand Valley State University and an expert on sports history wrote an amazing piece for First and Pen that spoke to the history of Georgia and its relationship to baseball during Jim Crow.
https://firstandpen.com/georgia-needs-baseball-to-hit-back-against-jim-crow-once-more/
It described at length how defeating Jim Crow was an instrumental strategy to bring MLB to the state.
The same rules applied in 2021.
“Sports have the power to change or push cities to do what’s right” he said.
Jemele Hill also put forward a call to action in her latest piece for the Atlantic continuing her legacy of always speaking truth to power.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/03/sports-should-boycott-georgia/618454/
As for those on the ground continuing to do the work for racial and social justice, this moment needs to put the focus back on where it belongs and that is on supporting those groups who are getting out the vote and utilizing their resources to combat these types of laws that have been introduced in various states.
Among those are LeBron James’s More Than a Vote Initiative, the players of the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream, and Renee Montgomery’s Remember the 3rd organization.
Fanika Miller, the Georgia State Coordinator for Black Voters Matter saw first-hand the impact athletes had during the 2020 election.
“Athletes wield a different level of influence that amplifies local organizations and young people. We thank them for all of those efforts and we couldn’t have done it without them” she said.”
“Athletes are more socially engaged than they have ever been.”
As for SB 202 itself, Fanika Miller has proposed various action steps folks can take as these laws continue to pop up across the country.
“They can donate to Black Voters Matter and to organizations doing this work. Support us in direct action and protest. Stand in solidarity with Representative Park Cannon and continue to apply pressure and a spotlight on folks who introduce these bills” she said.”
State Representative Park Cannon was unjustly arrested after gently knocking on the door of the Governor’s office in protest of the bill.
To rearrange the declaration put forth by OutKast, the kings of the South, the South don’t got something to say, they are saying something, and what they are saying (meaning the organizers and activists) democracy is worth more than pageantry.
