Dave Roberts Speaks Out
Dave Roberts is mostly known for being the Manager of the 2020 World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers. But due to the rising tension in the United States and ongoing systematic racism within it, he has been an important figure in the sports world when speaking out against these issues. Just last year in 2020, Roberts stood up with his team, protesting the shooting of Jacob Blake before a game. Now, he has spoken up against the ongoing struggle Asian-Americans have been facing in recent months
Dave Roberts is half Japanese and half Black, so he knows a lot about racism and what people in his family went through in the past. Roberts got so fed up with the hate Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders have been facing that he went so far as to send out an email across the entire Dodgers organization, as reported by The Athletic.
Roberts had this to say on the subject:
“I just think that there’s a lot of things going on, in and outside of our country towards Asians with racist bullying acts. I just felt that it hit obviously close to home for me, and I just felt that I wanted to address it internally and show my support for the Asian Americans in our organization.”
Roberts felt even more compelled to send out the email once he learned of the statement made by Chinese NBA player and social activist Jeremy Lin. Dave Roberts then consulted the Dodgers traveling secretary, Scott Akasaki, who is also Japanese-American, to write the email.
What Does This All Mean?
According to the United Nations, there were nearly 1,800 incidents against Asian-Americans between March and May of 2020 in the United States. Additionally, the Center for Public Integrity revealed that 32% of Americans and 60% of Asian-Americans have witnessed the blaming of Asians for COVID-19 in some manner.
Many of the racists that Roberts and many others have referenced are people that have used the coronavirus pandemic as a vehicle for racism against Asian-Americans. As a result, the MLB came out on February 25 and made a statement across social media with the hashtag, “#StopAsianHate.”
As many also know, the sport of baseball has grown exponentially in Asia in recent years, so it was a positive step to see Dave Roberts and the MLB stand up and made a statement against the blatantly obvious hatred for many Asian cultures.
