Report: MLB, Players Discussing Adding Social Justice Elements to 2020 Season

Major League Baseball and its players are reportedly discussing how they can incorporate social justice elements into the sport for the shortened 2020 season.

Buster Olney of ESPN reported the news, noting "it's unclear what form the elements will take, whether it be some kind of logo placed on uniforms or something shared and fronted by players."

Olney also pointed out "baseball has rarely tackled issues of racial inequality with industry-wide uniformity," highlighting the fact that the Boston Red Sox became the last team to sign a Black player 12 years after Jackie Robinson broke into the league.

What's more, Robinson called for the hiring of the league's first Black manager in 1972. That didn't happen until 1975 when the Cleveland Indians hired Frank Robinson.

The killing of George Floyd after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck while he was pleading for his life and saying he could not breathe sparked worldwide protests against police brutality and systemic racism. Soccer players in international leagues and MLS have taken a knee and worn messages such as Black Lives Matter on their jerseys in support of the movement.

Some NBA players will have similar messages on the backs of their jerseys when play resumes near Orlando, Florida.

On June 3, Major League Baseball issued a statement saying "our game has zero tolerance for racism and racial injustice" while adding "the reality that the Black community lives in fear or anxiety over racial discrimination, prejudice or violence is unacceptable."

Jelisa Castrodale of Vice pointed out MLB was the last major sports league to respond to Floyd's death, and James Wagner of the New York Times wrote a column titled "MLB Took 9 Days to Address George Floyd. Was It Too Late?" that included criticism from players such as New York Mets pitcher Marcus Stroman:

Castrodale cited MLB's senior director of communications and youth engagement Steven Arocho, who knew the amount of time it took the league to respond "didn't go unnoticed."

However, Arocho said, "We didn't just want to be a brand putting our voice out there. We wanted to develop what the next action was, so putting something out without considerable thought and being thorough, for us, fell a little short. We wanted there to be something intentional behind it."

It appears as if the league and its players are planning the next steps.