So I was watching ESPN today, and they were talking about how all of the Dodgers and anyone else in Major League Baseball that chooses to do so, will wear Jackie Robinson's number 42 on Sunday to commemorate the 60th anniversary of his MLB debut. Baseball is probably one of the only sports where you could get away with everyone having the same number. This idea came from Ken Griffey Jr. and was approved by Bud Selig. Sounds like a respectable tribute to remember a very important figure of the civil rights movement. Nobody could disagree with that, right? Well, apparently at least one MLB player disagrees, and surprisingly, it's an African American player.
Torii Hunter (yes, that's really how he spells his name) was on PTI and SportsCenter, explaining that he doesn't think everyone should be allowed to wear number 42 because some people will be wearing it "to look cool" without understanding what Jackie did for baseball. He also went on to say that people don't understand that Jackie played in games where fans yelled out racial slurs at him, and that many of his teammates and other players in the league harassed him. Now, I'm white and I don't even like baseball, but I know at least as much as Torii does about the Jackie Robinson story (or at least as much as he explained in his interview). Torii continued to dig himself into a bigger hole and was about one step away from saying that only African American players should be allowed to wear Robinson's number.
Later on, some ESPN baseball experts were talking about the decline of African American baseball players in recent years, mentioning that inner-city kids typically think that baseball isn't as cool as football or basketball. One guy even mentioned that Jackie Robinson is rolling over in his grave because of how few African American baseball players are in the MLB today. I have a problem with this conclusion. First of all, Jackie Robinson was doing more than just paving the way for African Americans to play baseball in the MLB. He opened the door for both football and basketball to accept African Americans (the first to be allowed to play in the NBA happened in 1950) so I don't think Jackie Robinson would be upset that inner-city kids choose to play basketball instead of baseball. From what I can understand from Jackie Robinson's story, he would be very happy to see that everyone has the chance to play any sport of their choice and should be just as happy to see Tiger Woods dominate golf. To compare what the world was like in 1972, when Jackie passed away, and what it's like today, I see progress and he would be proud of his legacy. We just had a Super Bowl with two African American head coaches going head-to-head for the first time. There are several African American coaches and even an African American owner in the NBA. We even have an African American with a good chance to become our next president.
I guess what I'm saying is that Jackie's legacy should not be tainted by the fact that African Americans would rather play football or basketball instead of baseball. The fact that they can choose to play baseball or any other sport and be given a fair chance is exactly what Jackie Robinson was fighting for. Sunday should be a day to remember him and what he has done, and I think this tribute is an appropriate way to remember his legacy.
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