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Tigers' Cameron Maybin on Protests: 'We Want to Play, but It's Bigger Than Us'
August 28, 2020
Detroit Tigers outfielder Cameron Maybin explained the need for MLB teams to protest in the wake of the police shooting of Jacob Blake, via Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic:
"We all want to play. What gets misconstrued is (the idea) that guys don't want to play. We want to play, but it's bigger than us. That's what gets lost in it. This is about the future, our children. I've got two young Black sons who I continue to have very hard conversations with. There are a lot of conversations (with players), a lot of concerns, a lot of questions about what MLB would do. We're just trying to be unified as a group. Not only from a Black player standpoint, but from a player standpoint. We're all brothers."
Thursday's game between the Tigers and Minnesota Twins was postponed, as were six other MLB games on the schedule. It followed the actions in the NBA playoffs that were started by the Milwaukee Bucks, who refused to take the floor for their scheduled game against the Orlando Magic on Wednesday.
Maybin, 33, is a founding member of The Players Alliance, composed of over 100 current and former Black MLB players. The organization put out a statement on Thursday via Instagram, saying they remain "unified" and the players will donate their salaries from Thursday's and Friday's games to help "combat racial inequality and aid the Black families and communities deeply affected in the wake of recent events."
"The color of our skin is the uniform we wear every day," the statement read. "We cannot change that. What we can change is the pain and injustice the Black community has suffered for far too long. We are determined to use our platform to speak out, and encourage our teammates and fans to help make our voices even louder."
Maybin said the protests help raise awareness of injustice.
The 14-year MLB veteran also praised the support of players like Anthony Rizzo, who gave an expletive-laden statement Wednesday night. He also noted the positive responses from teammates like Buck Farmer and manager Rod Gardenhire.
Though there has not been as much cohesion in MLB as in the NBA, which canceled two full days' worth of playoff games, Maybin believes the protests across baseball have provided a lot of positives toward help building change.