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Daniel Shirey / MLB Photos via Getty Images
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred announced Monday that the league plans to donate at least $ 100 million – and up to $ 150 million – over the next 10 years to The Players Alliance.
The Players Alliance is a non-profit organization that seeks to enhance the diversity within baseball at all levels and “to provide greater opportunities for the black community, both in our game and in the places we live. , let’s play and care the most “.
Last September, the MLB teamed up with the MLB Players Association to pledge $ 10 million to the organization. Among the goals behind the donation were to provide financial aid and community services to the black community, increased support for baseball programs in schools and community centers, and outreach efforts to increase the number of youth and young adults. black in the game.
Former New York Yankees star CC Sabathia is the vice president of The Players Alliance. In his memoirs, Until the end, he wrote that the relative lack of black players in MLB can make it difficult to defend social justice causes publicly.
“That’s why you’ve seen more black NFL and NBA players speak out than MLB players – there’s strength in numbers,” Sabathia wrote. “There were many years in Cleveland where I was the only black player on the roster; New York was better, but even with the Yankees most seasons I was one of four or five. black at most on the 24-player roster. “
Baseball’s lack of diversity in MLB has long been a problem.
For younger players trying to get into the game, Washington Nationals outfielder Josh Bell told Al Jazeera America’s Ray Glier in 2014 that the chase was becoming prohibitive for some.
“Think about the demographics of the black population as a whole and how badly we fare as a whole as a race,” he said. “It’s a lot easier to go outside and workout with the football than paying for hitting or throwing lessons and going to that showcase or that showcase.
“Baseball is one of those really expensive sports, and the showcases are starting earlier and earlier. The competition is getting tougher and tougher, so the need for some sort of practice outside of the hitting tee in the garden is coming in earlier and earlier. “
In explaining his decision not to participate in the 2020 season, two-time All-Star Ian Desmond said he visited the Little League grounds he played on in Sarasota, Fla., And they became “dilapidated” and “neglected”.
Desmond added that he believes that playing baseball has benefits for those who participate in it, even if they don’t have a long career.
Manfred’s announcement follows similar moves in the NFL and NBA.
The NFL made a 10-year, $ 250 million pledge to the Players Coalition in June 2020, and the NBA Board of Governors provided $ 300 million in funding to launch the NBA Foundation two months later.
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