Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has strong words for Dodgers | College News

To Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jackie Robinson’s legacy is as important now because it has ever been.

And on Tuesday, because the visitor speaker on the Dodgers’ annual celebration of Jackie Robinson Day, he made the explanation he believes so abundantly clear.

“Trump wants to get rid of DEI, and I think it’s just a ruse to discriminate,” Abdul-Jabbar stated to a scrum of reporters, whereas sitting on the base of Robinson’s statue within the heart area plaza of Dodger Stadium.

“You have to take that into consideration,” he added, “when we think about what’s going on today.”

Indeed, Tuesday was no typical Jackie Robinson Day — not for the Dodgers, or the remaining of the baseball world at massive.

Since President Trump returned to workplace in January, his marketing campaign in opposition to variety, equality and inclusion initiatives has had direct cross-overs with Robinson’s legacy, in addition to Major League Baseball’s public communications.

This spring, the Department of Defense eliminated an article from its web site detailing Robinson’s historical past of army service, solely to later restore it amid a wave of public criticism. In what seemed to be a capitulation to Trump’s anti-DEI stance, MLB’s league workplace has additionally struck all DEI-related references from its web site, as The Athletic detailed final month.

The Dodgers’ determination to go to Trump’s White House final week, of course, additionally continues to be a level of consternation amongst many within the fan base who would have fairly not seen the group have a good time its 2024 World Series title with such a polarizing political determine.

Against that backdrop, Abdul-Jabbar known as it “absolutely important” to uphold Robinson’s trailblazing legacy.

That’s why, as half of the Dodgers annual celebration of Robinson breaking baseball’s shade barrier on Tuesday, he highlighted Robinson’s historic significance in a speech to members of the Dodgers and Colorado Rockies (all of whom had been sporting No. 42 jerseys) earlier than the beginning of that night time’s sport.

“I’m glad that we do things like this,” he stated, “to let everybody in the country know what’s important.”

Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts additionally fielded Robinson-related questions for virtually the whole lot of his pregame deal with with reporters, and agreed with Abdul-Jabbar’s feedback in regards to the significance of Robinson’s legacy amid the nation’s present political climate.

“I’d like to think it’s a continued wake-up call for everyone, to take a step back and appreciate what made our country, the people who shaped our country,” Roberts stated, earlier than later including: “This is not a one-day situation. It’s Jackie Robinson’s day for breaking the color barrier. But this is like an everyday sort of mindset, appreciation.”

Roberts disputed the notion that the Dodgers’ commemoration of Robinson this yr felt hypocritical, given their go to to Trump’s White House simply the week earlier than.

“I don’t personally view it as talking out of both sides of our mouth,” he stated. “I understand how people feel that way. But I do think that supporting our country, staying unified, aligned, is what I believe in personally.”

Roberts did, nonetheless, specific the personal duty he feels to make sure Robinson’s legacy endures in his present position as Dodgers supervisor — and later lamented the very fact he’s one of solely two Black managers at the moment within the huge leagues, together with Ron Washington of the Angels.

“I think he would say we need to do better,” Roberts stated, when requested how Robinson may react to the league’s lack of managerial variety. “It’s important to get the best qualified people. … But I do think there’s a lot of people of color that are qualified to do this job.”

Then, like Abdul-Jabbar, Roberts emphasised the need to keep Robinson’s legacy related.

“There’s more people from different countries than there ever has been in this game, which is great, and there’s room for more,” he stated. “I hope it’s not getting lost on why we’re celebrating this day, because somebody’s got to break through.”