On Monday, Colorado Rockies baseball player Ian Desmond released a statement on Instagram announcing that he was opting out of the 2020 Major League Baseball (MLB) season, citing his concern for COVID-19 pandemic and its potential effects on his family. Desmond, who is biracial, also used his announcement as an opportunity to criticize the MLB’s treatment of Black people.
Desmond said that the recent cases of police brutality against Black people persuaded him to speak out about his own experiences. He then reflected on his time as a baseball player and recounted how the field he used to play on was now run-down and neglected. Desmond expressed frustration around why people didn’t prioritize education and safe spaces for children to learn, grow and be supported.
“…if we don’t have these parks, academies, teachers, coaches, religious institutions,” he wrote. “If we don’t have communities investing in people’s lives — what happens to the kids who are just heartbroken and never get that moment of fulfillment?”
The Rockies player went on to express his own issues with the MLB. He said that racist, sexist, and homophobic jokes were common in clubhouses and that there were few black people involved in the league at any capacity.
“One African American GM. Two African American managers. Less than 8% Black players. No majority team owners,” he wrote.
The MLB All-Star also explained that he felt like his race put him in a box, both in and outside of baseball. He was a victim of racist jokes and stereotypes when he was a child, and now was forced to follow the unwritten rules of baseball perpetuated by white players. Desmond said that even though he is biracial, he had felt the prejudices of being a Black man.
Although Desmond admitted that he didn’t have all the answers and solutions to these issues within the baseball community, he said he would be doing his part by helping revamp the Little League organization in his hometown during his time away from the MLB.
“If we didn’t force Black Americans into white America’s box,” Desmond wrote. “Think of how much we could thrive.”