Hank Aaron Diversity Fund Receives $2M from Braves, MLB, MLBPA

The Atlanta Braves, MLB and MLBPA have donated a total of $2 million to establish the Henry Louis Aaron Fund in honor of the late Hank Aaron.

Aaron, who was the sport's home run king for more than three decades, died last week at the age of 86. The fund "will work to increase minority participation among players, managers, coaches and front-office personnel," according to an ESPN report. 

The Braves, the franchise that Aaron played for through the entirety of his career, made a $1 million donation that will be supplemented by the league and players' association, both of which will donate $500,000. 

Per the ESPN report, Aaron was critical about the lack of Black managers and general managers and was worried about decreasing participation in baseball among the Black community. 

"Henry Aaron was a Hall of Fame player, a front office executive, a mentor, a colleague and a friend. In each of these roles, he was a tireless advocate for better representation of people of color throughout our sport," read a statement from MLB commissioner Rob Manfred.

According to a release from the league, the fund will be a part of the Atlanta Braves Foundation. The club announced its founding during a memorial service for the Hall of Fame legend that was held at Truist Park on Tuesday.

"We want to continue Hank's amazing work in growing diversity within baseball now and in the years to come," said Terry McGuirk, Atlanta Braves chairman. "I believe this seed money is just the beginning for this growing fund and I'm certain other companies and organizations who have worked with Hank over the years will join us and add to this call to action to develop talent and increase the diversity on the field and in the front offices across the league."

The team will be announcing further plans to honor Aaron, who still holds MLB records for RBI (2,297), total bases (6,856) and extra-base hits (1,477), "in the coming weeks," according to the league.