Moved by George Floyd’s death, Texas Rangers GM Jon Daniels commits to effecting change
Jon Daniels actually has an Instagram account, but has never posted anything.
He doesn’t have a Twitter account, but always seems to know baseball-relevant items that have been on that social-networking site.
The Texas Rangers general manager is not one to engage on trending topics, either within baseball or society.
So, he knew he was stepping out of his comfort zone Thursday morning when he felt compelled to address the impact of George Floyd’s death, during what was billed as a pre-draft Zoom media availability with local beat writers.
It didn’t feel right, he said, to hop into baseball business without speaking first about an issue that has seized the nation’s attention for nearly two weeks, but in particular the past week that saw peaceful protests turn violent in many of baseball’s markets.
“This is just some personal thoughts, speaking for myself, my family,” he said.
Daniels spoke a day after MLB issued its response to what is happening. The nicest thing many found to say about it was, “finally.” Responses on Twitter were quick to mention the absence of any mention of police brutality or Black Lives Matter.
There was risk involved — just ask Drew Brees — but Daniels spoke, not necessarily about a concrete plan on how he or the Rangers will address injustice but how he wants to help effect change.
“I feel pretty passionately about a variety of topics that are kind of wrapped up in this,” Daniels said. “I just would have felt [expletive deleted] if I didn’t address it on some level.
“... I do support some of what I know on all of those causes, but I don’t know all the ins and outs. I’m trying to educate myself. I think at the end of the day I want us to do what feels right.
“What I want to model for my kids, speak up and support things you believe in. Ultimately they may be uncomfortable for you personally but are good for the common good. ... I don’t know if that is right or wrong, but it felt like the appropriate thing to do.”
With less baseball work than normal on his plate, Daniels has given more attention to the news. It has been difficult to watch videos from marches and protests, and to watch people confront the hardships he will never encounter as the second-longest tenured GM in baseball who has been compensated handsomely since 2005.
He knows that.
Daniels and his wife, Robyn, have spoken with their three children, ages 13, 12 and 8, to try to make them aware of the difficulties people of color face that they themselves won’t face on the streets of Southlake. It requires some critical thinking, and he wants his kids to make their own decisions.
As the head of the area’s professional baseball team, Daniels also knows he has the platform to get the ball rolling with helping the Rangers consider changes they should make and perhaps be part of the conversation at the community level.
“Obviously, right now, it’s at the forefront, so we’re all talking about it, but I’ve just been thinking about, ‘What sort of action follows that up?’” Daniels said. “What can we do in our community and our own areas to help, and, ultimately, to help in a constructive manner that doesn’t get in the way or undermine the people who are closer to it and what they’re trying to accomplish with the movement?
“So right now, I’m trying to listen as much as possible, not just to the things going on out there, but reading and listening to some of the people here, their experiences. Being willing to be a little uncomfortable and have some uncomfortable conversations.”
The first step, Daniels said, it admitting there is a problem, a deeply rooted problem, and that isn’t new. It comes up far too often, and too often there have been either no answers or ineffective answers.
Eyes and ears need to be open. People need to self-evaluate, have uncomfortable conversations, and act before the next news cycle sweeps away this latest unnecessary death and the problems associated with it.
“George Floyd’s death is a flash point, but we’ve all known it was there,” Daniels said. “And, quite frankly, we haven’t done enough about it. It’s not hard to think of some of the other recent examples of similar issues. Now, for me, I think the challenge is to take how we’re all feeling about it and commit to not letting it slip away when the next change in seasons comes along or when the headlines change or when the spotlight shifts a little bit.
“So, I’ve been doing a lot of that, thinking about what type of example do I want to set for my kids. I’m in a position, because of my role here, or my colleagues, my friends, my family, I think there’s a responsibility that comes with that. So I’ve just been thinking a lot about what I need to do, to think about and ultimately improve.”
Daniels said he doesn’t want his words to be viewed as a PR stunt. He’s committed to helping.
“I love our country, I respect our police, I respect our institutions, but I also recognize that I want to be part of something to help reform them in a positive way,” he said. “I just don’t want to be in the same cycle where we’re watching the same things and having the same conversations down the line, months or years down the line, because we haven’t done enough to address it here in the short term.”
