I certainly give Major League Baseball and Jackie Robinson credit for breaking the color barrier and slowly ending segregation within the sport. Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and dozens of other stand-out players from the former Negro Leagues followed, but in terms of upper management and franchise ownership, the league looks a great deal like it did when Hank Aaron retired from the diamond and into Braves franchise management in 1974. I’m not trying to say that America’s pastime is prejudiced, but I am pointing out that among professional sports, it is far from being the “most woke.”
The Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Sports Council, Cobb County government, Chamber of Commerce and CVB among others, invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in a bid and effort, fairly won several years ago, to host the MLB All-Star Game in 2021. Such sporting mega-events, like the recent NBA All-Star Game weekend in Atlanta, draw fans, visitors and heavy spending, media attention, and a surprising amount of later side investment.
Bill Crane is a syndicated columnist based in Decatur. He has worked in politics for Democrats and Republicans, respects the process and will try and give you some things to think about. Your thoughts and responses to his opinions are also welcome, bill.csicrane@gmail.com.
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism
that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness
accounts, the history behind an article.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Please log in, or sign up for a new, free account to read or post comments.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.