Running racism in America thread

qtlaw · Apr 23, 2024

Slacker said: ↑

Seven innings inside America's culture wars: Turbulence within Fort Myers baseball

Tate Reilly batted leadoff that day. The Fort Myers senior outfielder was surprised by the plum assignment. He had been on the varsity two seasons and batted in the bottom third of the order. Leading off should have buttressed the even better news he held in his heart: He received an offer to play at Albertus Magnus College, a Division III school in New Haven, Connecticut. He would soon be a college player, and receiving a firm scholarship represented a vindication of the hard work he'd put into a difficult game.

Madrid Tucker was to bat second. Tucker's father is Michael Tucker, who was the 10th overall pick by the Kansas City Royals in the 1992 draft. Tucker played for seven teams over a 12-year big league career, appearing in the National League Championship Series three times. Just a sophomore, Madrid played varsity as a freshman and already had been offered a dozen scholarships to play baseball, some at Power 5 schools. Six-foot tall and widely considered by his coaches to be the most promising player on the team, Madrid Tucker played in the prestigious Hank Aaron Invitational, the joint MLB/Players Association tournament in Vero Beach, Florida, designed to develop and increase the shrinking number of Black players in the majors. He was a high-level prospect, a three-sport star on a trajectory for Division I or the Major League amateur draft by the time he graduates. According to one national prep tracking service, in 2023 he was ranked second at shortstop in talent-rich Florida and 75th overall in the nation.

While Madrid stood in the on-deck circle taking practice cuts, Reilly saw two pitches. On the second, Robert Hinson, the Fort Myers third-base coach -- his coach -- walked off the field. Seconds later, two more coaches and at least nine Fort Myers players followed out of the dugout. One player walking off the field said, "I'm out," to which Hinson added, "I'm out of here."

...

Led by their adult coaches and supported by their parents, members of the Fort Myers high school baseball team quit a game and left their two teammates, Reilly and Tucker, who happened to be the only two players of color on the team, alone on the field.

Xavier Medina, an assistant coach for Estero, watched from across the diamond. In all his years coaching youth sports, he had never seen a team abandon its own players. As the bizarre scene unfolded, he was witnessing the antithesis of what sports were supposed to be about. The cliches of teamwork and togetherness were collapsing in real time. Players wearing the same uniform were not united against Estero. They were divided against themselves. His second conclusion was even worse: The walkout did not appear to be a reckless act concocted by teenagers, but rather orchestrated and blessed by coaches and parents. The kids were taking the lead from the grown-ups.
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I read that today and was going to post this. Just horrible.

People who complain about being excluded from using a racially charged word need to understand, why do you want to say it? What right do you have to say it? Simply because others are using the term? Well once you're belittled and demeaned by the term, you get to use it. Until then, STFU.

Smallpotatoes · Apr 23, 2024

qtlaw said: ↑

I read that today and was going to post this. Just horrible.

People who complain about being excluded from using a racially charged word need to understand, why do you want to say it? What right do you have to say it? Simply because others are using the term? Well once you're belittled and demeaned by the term, you get to use it. Until then, STFU.
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That’s the best response I’ve heard to that complaint.

I usually just go with “Actually you are allowed to say it. Nobody is going to put you in jail. Just don’t come crying to the rest of us if you don’t like the response you get.”

Neutral Corner · Apr 23, 2024

An Honest Assessment of Rural White Resentment Is Long Overdue

garrow · Apr 30, 2024 at 7:53 AM

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Running racism in America thread

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Running racism in America thread

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