Despite the league’s efforts to diversify the game, some of the most recognizable and noteworthy positions still need improvement.
Editor’s note: Richard Lapchick is a human rights activist, pioneer for racial equality, expert on sports issues, scholar and author. Seventy-four years ago today, Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier. A little more than a year ago, the pandemic disrupted our world and forever altered the sports landscape. Less than a year ago, the killing of George Floyd started a national racial reckoning that led to significant changes in the United States — and in sports. It’s simply clear that, nearly three-quarters of a century after his first game, Jackie Robinson may be more relevant today than ever. And just as the season started, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred announced that the 2021 All-Star Game would be moved out of Atlanta in response to a new Georgia law that civil rights groups say will restrict access to voting, especially for people of color. MLB’s unprecedented move reflected another major outcome stemming from the 2020-21 racial reckoning. In addition to that historic move, MLB also achieved several milestones in its racial and gender hiring practices. In November, the Miami Marlins hired Kim Ng. She is the first woman to serve as a general manager of an MLB team, and the first among any major league professional men’s team in North American sports since the San Jose Clash of the MLS hired Lynne Meterparel in 1999. Ng’s hiring may be the most important diversity hire in recent MLB history. In December, MLB said it was officially „correcting a longtime oversight in the game’s history.“ To do that, it recognized the players of the Negro Leagues as major-league-caliber players by including their statistics and records as part of MLB history. That was huge — and long overdue. In February, the Atlanta Braves formed the Henry Aaron fellowship program in honor of the late Hank Aaron. Like Jackie Robinson, Aaron was a trailblazer for Black baseball players and one of the greatest to play the game. He was a true champion for diversity and equity, which he carried with him even after his playing career as an executive with the Atlanta Braves. The fellowship creates a pathway allowing participants to get experience working in a front office to open up diversity opportunities in those positions. Today, our team at The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES) at the University of Central Florida (UCF) published the 2021 MLB Racial and Gender Report Card.
