The White Sox and Royals appear as though they will be playing tonight’s originally scheduled series opener. No official announcement from either team has been released saying otherwise, though anything could happen between now and first pitch. This comes amid the recent racial-justice protests across the sports landscape in the wake of the recent police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The movement originally began following an unprecedented decision by the Milwaukee Bucks to boycott their playoff game on Wednesday afternoon. Shortly after, the NBA postponed the league’s games while the Brewers quickly joined the Bucks in solidarity by agreeing with the Cincinnati Reds to sit out their game later that night. Since then, many teams across Major League Baseball and other professional sports leagues have joined by not participating in their originally scheduled games and practices over the past few days.
Due to their matinee on Wednesday and the off-day yesterday, the White Sox did not have a chance to formally join the rapidly growing protests. In fact, the team has stayed relatively quiet on the matter and has yet to release any sort of statement directly related to what’s going on. Starting pitcher Lucas Giolito did, however, meet with the media yesterday and discussed the ongoing injustices that continue to plague our nation.
“What went down with Jacob Blake, in my mind, that’s unacceptable. That shouldn’t be happening in a developed country. A man getting shot seven times in his back, that just shouldn’t happen,” Giolito said. “I don’t see why that’s something that happened, why it consistently has been happening for a long time. That’s how I view it and I know that for some reason, the way that everything’s going, my opinion on that being unacceptable is going to be politicized when it shouldn’t be.”
The team’s ace pointed to other leagues, like the NBA and WNBA, being at the forefront of pushing for change and social justice. He also cited how Major League Baseball is beginning to take part in these movements more and more.
“You see what’s going on. Athletes continuing to use their voice to speak up, whether that just be in an interview or with what we see going on with players boycotting or whatever you want to call it,” Giolito explained. “It’s part of a bunch of people saying enough is enough. Like this isn’t something that should continue to go on in this country.”
Giolito is someone who has continually used his platform positively by speaking out against the ongoing acts of racism the country has seen recently. He was one of the first players to speak up about the George Floyd protests a few months ago and has shared his views on other pressing issues before then.
On a larger scale, Black players across Major League Baseball who make up “The Players Alliance” announced their collective decision yesterday to donate their salaries on August 27th and 28th. The proceeds will go towards “supporting our efforts to combat racial inequality and aid the Black families and communities deeply affected in the wake of recent events.” Notably, White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson is part of the Active Players Advisory Board and will be one of those taking part in this initiative.
It’s unclear whether any other White Sox players will be donating their salaries. However, all members of the team will be honoring the life and legacy of Jackie Robinson this evening by wearing the number “42.” The league pushed back the special day to August 28th this year, due to its historical significance for a variety of reasons, including the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.
As a team, the White Sox joined others around the league in posting about Robinson on their social media platforms. They released a series of tweets earlier in the day, one containing a powerful message from Anderson, himself.
Perhaps since today holds special significance around the league, playing as one unified team will serve as motivation to carry on with this evening’s game. Assuming things go on, I would imagine there will be some sort of recognition for the ongoing protests by either individual players or the entire team. Again, it’s still relatively early so we will see if any other developments occur between now and first pitch.
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Featured Photo: White Sox/Twitter
