MILWAUKEE- Major League Baseball teams are following in the footsteps of the Bucks and the Brewers.Seven games were postponed on Thursday to honor Jacob Blake and to bring attention to racial injustice in America.
Brewers President of Business Operations Rick Schlesinger senses a shift in the way the sport is broaching the topic of racial equality.
“Baseball has a complicated legacy on race. April 15th, 1947 is when Jackie Robinson took the field as the first African American player. That’s not that long ago.”
Schlesinger also acknowledges that issues of race still plague the sport, saying, “The number of African American players in baseball is only about 8%. There’s not a lot of African Americans in senior-level positions in baseball.”
The Brewers COO adding the shift in mentality comes from today’s generation of player.
“Players are recognizing that they have a voice. They have a platform. They’re athletes, of course, but they’re also citizens of our country, and they live in [Wisconsin] for a lot of months. What goes on in this state means a lot to them.”
Schlesinger joined Brewers 360 on Wisconsin’s Morning News.
