After months of the world facing unprecedented challenges brought about by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the United State has been in a state of civil unrest since George Floyd died while in custody of Minneapolis police.
Protests erupted throughout Minnesota and spread to other states over the past week. The Black Lives Movement remains determined to bring about social change, end racism and police brutality.
Their messaging has been supported by several Los Angeles Dodgers players, and athletes, celebrities, businesses and other sports times across the globe. Major League Baseball publicly addressed the matter Wednesday, and prior to that commissioner Rob Manfred did do so in an internal memo.
According to Hannah Keyser of Yahoo! Sports, Manfred remembered Floyd and other African Americans who have lost their lives, and noted MLB is examining how to best take action, among other notes:
Here's the memo Rob Manfred sent out internally to MLB employees: pic.twitter.com/oKoGyy5SEU
— Hannah Keyser (@HannahRKeyser) June 2, 2020
The current climate has further placed MLB and the Players Association under criticism as the sides remain at odds over an economic plan for the 2020 regular season. The MLBPA recently proposed keeping prorated salaries for 82 games, but offered to play more than 100 in effort to carry out a substantial season.
That didn’t appear to win over team owners, however, as MLB continues to harbor concern over a second wave of the coronavirus in the fall. Thus, the league is said to be considering a season possibly as short as 50 games, but with an expanded playoffs that would theoretically increase revenue.
Time is not only ticking, but MLB and its players also face the prospect of the general public losing interest and becoming frustrated with the sport as society looks to embark on a time of change.
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