As the saying goes, the news never stops — but there’s a lot of it out there, and all of it doesn’t always pertain to our readers. In this weekly news roundup, we’ll cover the top news stories that matter most to our diversity focused audience. 1. MLB Celebrates Jackie…
Tag: Mlb
How Sports Influence Diversity Policies and Where More Needs To Be Done
The Indianapolis Colts recently made news by creating a program to promote diverse coaches in the National Football League by earning fellowships on the Colts’ coaching staff. The Colts named the Tony Dungy Diversity Fellowship after the head coach who led the team to victory in Super Bowl LXI, making…
NAACP Issues Letter Discouraging Athletes From Signing With Texas-Based Teams
The NAACP is fighting back against racist, transphobic and anti-woman legislation recently passed in Texas by issuing a letter encouraging players in five different professional sports to avoid signing with teams based in the state. ESPN’s Sarah Barshop reported that “in a two-page letter signed by NAACP President and CEO…
Cleveland Baseball Team Drops Racist Name and Mascot; Will Now Be Known as Cleveland Guardians
After more than 100 years, Cleveland’s major league baseball team is shedding its racist name and logo. Starting next year, the Cleveland Indians will now be known as the Cleveland Guardians. ESPN has reported that the ballclub announced the name change late last week “with a video on Twitter narrated…
100 Years Later, MLB Elevates Negro Leagues to Major League Status
Major League Baseball has righted a generations-old wrong this week by elevating the Negro Leagues to MLB status. This inclusion will allow for 3,400 Black players from seven leagues that formed due to segregation and had operated between 1920 and 1948 to receive newfound recognition in a number of ways,…
Astros Owner Jim Crane Apologizes to Sports Illustrated Reporter Stephanie Apstein
Stephanie Apstein, the Sports Illustrated reporter who broke the news about a Houston Astros executive verbally attacking three women reporters, received an apology Saturday from Astros owner Jim Crane after the team initially accused her of fabricating the story. Apstein shared a photo of the apology letter Sunday on Twitter….
Houston Astros Executive Taunted Female Journalists Over Domestic Violence
The Houston Astros are in the World Series for the second time in three years after eliminating the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series on Saturday night. But amid the celebration, the team is dealing with controversy after an executive for the organization verbally accosted several female…
Archived: Major League Baseball Donated to Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith After Video of 'Public Hanging' Remark Surfaced
Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith’s “joke” about attending “a public hanging” — a method of domestic terrorism that killed hundreds of Black people in Mississippi — resulted in major companies withdrawing their support, except for Major League Baseball (MLB). Hyde-Smith recently received the legal maximum donation of $5,000 from the MLB….
Archived: Papa John's Driven Out of Professional Sports after Founder's Racist Conference Call Comments
To date, 20 athletic organizations — from collegiate sports to professional sport leagues (MLB, MLS, NBA, NFL) — have cut ties with Papa John’s after founder and former CEO John Schnatter’s N-word comments on a conference call. The severing included renaming stadiums and discontinuing or suspending promotions and partnerships. Oregon…
Archived: Mastercard, MLB Deliver In-Stadium Augmented Reality Experience at 2017 World Series
This year, Mastercard (No. 7 on the DiversityInc Top 50 Companies list) and MLB partnered tosurpriseand providebaseball fansunique access throughout Postseason and into the 2017 World Series. To build on this excitement, Mastercard and MLB for the first time ever delivered fans a specialStand Up To Cancer (SU2C)message through augmented…