Rangers take a stand: ‘Nobody denies that we want racial equality in this country’
Texas Rangers baseball was to be played Friday night, the opener for their 2020 season and their new $1.2 billion ballpark.
Opening Day arrived nearly four months late, delayed by the coronavirus pandemic that has sent the world to a place it has never been. There have been other crises, of course, with wars, terrorist attacks, financial panics and other pandemics.
And there has been social unrest and calls for change, past and present.
Both the COVID-19 fight and the call for reform, following the May 25 death of George Floyd while in police custody, were front and center at Globe Life Field.
Rangers players and coaches, as well as those with the Colorado Rockies, wore shirts during batting practice expressing their support for racial equality, and they stood together and held a black ribbon before the National Anthem.
Fourteen Rangers players and coaches — including Black player Willie Calhoun, Black coaches Tony Beasley and Callix Crabbe, and manager Chris Woodward — knelt while holding the ribbon as videos in support of ending racism played but stood for the anthem.
Rockies outfielder Matt Kemp knelt.
Thei Rangers’ biggest act was a video shared on social media conveying the players’ the Rangers’ commitment to fighting racism and their pledge to effect change.
“I think it’s always good to wear the patch, to wear a shirt, but I think massive action is what we need to do and do well to make a change and to make a better world,” shortstop Elvis Andrus said. “That’s our idea. That’s what we want to do as a team. It’s a lot of diversity, a lot of different cultures in here ... Black lives matter, but everybody matters. So that’s the example we’re trying to express as a team.”
The Rangers spoke for nearly a week about the topic, after MLB held meetings with the Players Association and the Players Alliance, a group of more than 100 current and former Black players. Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Andrew McCutchen is a leading voice.
Ultimately, on Wednesday they decided on their plan, to wear shirts during the pregame and patches on their jerseys. It was up to each player as to how they would express themselves, and there was no wrong way.
“Everybody is very clearly for equity, unity and social justice,” general manager Jon Daniels said. “But people have different comfort levels with how they want to express that.”
Right-hander Kyle Gibson is considered one of the leaders behind the video, but he said that the goal was to included how every was feeling, but especially Black players and coaches.
They also wanted to put politics of certain aspects of the social movement aside and stand behind their Black teammates.
“We wanted to make sure all our teammates were heard and their opinions mattered,” Gibson said. “I’m honored to be a part of an organization that has led these talks from the get-go and made this issue that we don’t want to talk about because we don’t want to ruffle feathers.”
Manager Chris Woodward was among several who wore Black Lives Matter shirts. In his case, it was showing support for ending racism rather than the organization that many people believe strays from supporting the Black community.
Gibson and many others wore a shirt that on the front depicted multiple hands of different races holding the same bat, the brainchild of first baseman Todd Frazier, while on the back displaying one of the more famous quotes from Martin Luther King Jr.
It’s one that Gibson said helps guide left-hander Taylor Hearn as he traverses his personal experiences with racism.
The quote reads: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can do that.”
The Rangers are hoping they can help support their teammates and the cause in the community.
“Obviously, we respect everybody’s opinion,” Woodward said. “Everybody has different thoughts and backgrounds and beliefs, especially when it comes to politics. So, we wanted to make sure that we wanted to be unified with our overall message, but also respectful to the different beliefs and different politics and policies that people believe in.
“It was tough. It’s a tough conversation to have with a group of guys that are pretty passionate, a lot of times on both sides, but nobody denies the fact that we want racial equality in this country. And everybody agreed in that locker room, and we fully support that.”
This story was originally published July 24, 2020 at 7:12 PM.
