A day after the Mariners decided unanimously as a team to not play a game as a means of protest against racial inequality in America, their manager was more proud than ever of his players. Drayer: Mariners players use their platform, explain decision to not play.
Sports are a privilege, and we get the opportunity to play an awesome game, we get paid for it. But it is a privilege. The Mariners joined teams across sports in the country making the call to not play scheduled games Wednesday or Thursday, but it was especially meaningful for the MLB franchise with the most Black players — eight on the active roster and 11 on the man prior to the trade of Taijuan Walker on Thursday morning.
The protests and strikes happening in sports have been in response to events in Kenosha, Wisc. Blake survived the shooting but his family has said he is paralyzed from the waist down.
Meanwhile in Kenosha, another shooting during ensuing protests left two dead and another injured this week. But the only way this is going to get better is that people recognize it and they take it personal and they do everything they can to make change. Mariners Manager Scott Servais spoke pre-game today in support of the players' decision not to play yesterday's game. For me, yesterday was a day of action is how I would term it. Everybody understands how our ball club is put together, we have eight Black players on our team, and with the things that have happened, again, in society, our players wanted to see action, and I commend them for that.
Very proud of the group, the leadership that they showed yesterday. We need change and again I commend our players for continuing to do the right thing. Then a group of about six or seven of our players came into my office about an hour after… and we had another talk about where they were at.
