Braves meet with Rainbow/PUSH officials

[Chief Knockahoma]

you've GOTTA be kidding me.

http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/braves/stories/2007/05/07/0508bravesminority.html

Upset over the lack of African-Americans on the Braves roster, members of Jesse Jackson's Rainbow-PUSH Coalition asked for a meeting with team officials. They got one Monday.

Joe Beasley, Southern Regional Director for the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, said he and Dexter Clinkscale, the director of sports for the organization, met Monday morning for nearly two hours with Braves general manager John Schuerholz, assistant general manager Frank Wren and three other Braves officials.

"The team slipped ... down to [no African-Americans]; it wasn't something that just happened," Beasley said Monday afternoon. "I think it was a lack of diligence on the part of the Braves to recruit African-American players. There's not diminished enthusiasm for African-Americans playing baseball. It's simply the opportunity hasn't presented itself."

Schuerholz acknowledged the meeting Monday but declined further comment, saying in a statement: "We had a meeting with Mr. Beasley and another member of his organization this morning and discussed a variety of topics."

Less than 10 percent of major league players are African-Americans. In a recent interview on the subject, Schuerholz said: "You go to where the talent leads you. Finding major league-caliber baseball players is far too difficult if you try to narrow your criteria down to demographics."

Countered Beasley, "As I expected, [Schuerholz's] idea is the bottom line: I'll put the best 40 men I can get wherever I can get them from on the field, and that's fair. But the fact of the matter is if they put resources into recruiting here in the United States, and more specifically here in Atlanta, there are talented players here."

The issue was brought to the attention of the Rainbow-PUSH Coalition during the 60th anniversary celebration of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier. The Braves and Houston Astros did not have any African-American players on their 25-man rosters at the time. The Braves' total grew with the promotion of left fielder Willie Harris, who is from Robinson's hometown of Cairo.

"You slipped down to nothing, now you've got one, we expect it to start going up higher," Beasley said was the sentiment he voiced in the meeting. "We want to see incrementally it move back up, rather than moving down. There was an openness on [Schuerholz's] part to talk and to be in dialogue and hopefully be in partnership in trying to make sure that it happens. He was very nice, a gentleman. I'm going to hold him to his word to work with us and move those numbers back up to a respectable level."
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[McCarroll21]

I read that earlier... I think I'm going to march myself into the NFL or NBA offices and demand more white players. NBA needs more white players period. NFL needs more white running backs and wide receivers.

Don't worry about putting the best team on the field and maybe losing your job, make it equal for all races!

[Chief Knockahoma]

NFL needs more white running backs and wide receivers.

you'll get Corey Schlesinger...
http://www.detroitlions.com/photos/Cory_Schlesinger_Story.jpg

and Ricky Proehl...
http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nfl/carolina/ProehlCar.jpg

and like it, you nappy headed ho!

:throwup:

[dogmanx23]

are u kidding me u know what i say to that group STFU!!!! this is baseball we get the players that are good and that fit on this team its not about color its about skill AHOLES! This is more crap by jesse jackson throwing around the race card. So what JS is now a racist we have had plently of black players on this team. so this is just stupid... if there is a black player the braves can get that fill our needs bring in him we are not bringing in a black player to make this stupid group happy STFU AND GET A JOB stuff like this pisses me off! sorry

[thegame10]

"But the fact of the matter is if they put resources into recruiting here in the United States, and more specifically here in Atlanta, there are talented players here."

This is the one quote that kills me. It shows that these people have NO idea what they are talking about. They failed to realize that a LOT of the players not only on the big league club, but in the minors as well, are from the Atlanta area or Georgia. This is getting so OUT OF HAND it is insane.

[Chopaholic]

That may be the dumbest arguement ever made.

1) There is no definition of "respectable level." Usually when people make these general comments they are talking out their ass.
2) If I was an African American I would read this article as insult more than just a plee to a Major leauge team to recruit more AA players. Most people in general, not just AA, want to feel like they have earned their status in life. This guy is trying to PUSH the Braves to go after players because they are African Americans not based on talent or what they have earned.
3) Unfortunatly anything that is connected to Jesse Jackson or his rainbow coalition in my opinion is presumed suspect because of his/its past.

[C-Dawg]

I wonder if this nonsense had something to do with the Braves dumping Langy and calling up Harris.

[McCarroll21]

No. They didn't meet until today. JS isn't going to trade someone to call up a black player just to make Jesse Jackson happy. JS could care less how Jesse Jackson wants his team run.

Between this and the whole racist America cries over the crap ESPN has tried to pull with this poll they're running shows how stupid the black people are over the issue.

Is it cause for concern? Sure. But is it a cause for concern that there are more black players than white in the NBA? Not to them. Equality isn't what they're after, they're just after making a scene.

JS can't make the black guys get off the basketball court, streets or anywhere else, just like he can't make the white guys or any other race. He takes what is given to him and forms the best team possible, regardless of race.

[nj_chops]

more charlie hayes, less chipper jones

[KB 34]

I wish Jackson and his pathetic cronies would worry more about the inner city kids who are murdered before they're old enough to play MLB baseball opposed to the teams that are trying to win baseball games and make money.

[vnodnarb]

if basketball and football are embedded in the African American culture, who cares if they play baseball, hockey or whatever else, this is America it's their choice

thats the big thing do they have the choice to play baseball, are there enough organized leagues in urban areas? i honestly don't know, but if you want to get more African Americans in the MLB thats the first and only place to work on this "problem" and i use that very loosely

[C-Dawg]

No. They didn't meet until today. JS isn't going to trade someone to call up a black player just to make Jesse Jackson happy. JS could care less how Jesse Jackson wants his team run.

Well I'm sure they saw this little meeting on the horizon when they made the move...they didn't just decide to meet with PUSH all of a sudden yesterday afternoon. And the move was so relatively insignificant and risk-free that it wouldn't surprise me if this played a role in the decision.

[Nasadega]

That's the dumbest article I've ever read on a baseball site.
Players should be brought up for their talent, not their skin.

[MSU Bulldog]

Typical headline grabbing media stunts. Doesn't the Rev. Jackson have an illegitimate kid he should be taking care of ...... oops!

Maybe he could possibly get Tom Emanski videos, or better yet, pass those out in the community. :rolleyes:

Rainbow Push should take it upon themselves to promote the game of baseball if the do not think their race is represented well enough.

[C-Dawg]

Is it cause for concern? Sure. But is it a cause for concern that there are more black players than white in the NBA? Not to them. Equality isn't what they're after, they're just after making a scene.

I agree. I mean...where I went to high school, in the lunchroom all the black kids would segregate themselves and sit together and the white kids did the same, as did the hispanic kids. It wasn't because of inequality or because one group hated another...it's just that people gravitate toward their comfort zone. The same thing is happening in sports, and it's not a disaster or a racial matter....it's just people doing what they want to do, and there's nothing wrong with that. So long as black people aren't being kept away, I fail to see why JS and the Braves need to even entertain these goons.

[GrandMasterB]

This is so stupid. If they want more African-American players in baseball, they should stop their whining about it and do something. Baseball doesn't market itself as well as the NFL or NBA. Young African-American kids don't get exposed to baseball as much. They see all these star NBA players on TV with all these endorsements, so of course they're going to gravitate towards that.

If they really want to make a difference, they should go into the inner cities and promote the game. Provide funding for fields to play on and equipment to use. Go in there and teach them that baseball can be just as fun as basketball or football. You want respect? Do something to earn it.

[nj_chops]

Baseball doesn't market itself as well as the NFL or NBA. Young African-American kids don't get exposed to baseball as much. They see all these star NBA players on TV with all these endorsements, so of course they're going to gravitate towards that.

Incorrect. Who has more commercials, Manning (Marino, Montana, Young, Elway) or Tomlinson (or anyone else in football combined)? Might be somewhat true about the NBA.

Provide funding for fields to play on and equipment to use.

Correct, although this is more of a local government funding issue than MLB.

[Chopaholic]

Incorrect. Who has more commercials, Manning (Marino, Montana, Young, Elway) or Tomlinson (or anyone else in football combined)? Might be somewhat true about the NBA.

I would say that the NFL is just marketed more than baseball. Not that it matters if there are African Americans in the commercial/sponsors or whatever.

[nj_chops]

I would say that the NFL is just marketed more than baseball. Not that it matters if there are African Americans in the commercial/sponsors or whatever.

That's my point exactly. If the amount of marketing (or the invisible hand "reaching out") played such a big role in lack of black baseball players, how come the same reason doesn't apply to football?

Yes it's true kids want to play the cool sports endorsed by cool people, but the utter lack of oppotunity is the real underlying reason.

Braves don't have many black players because of the relatively smaller talent pool, not some konspiracy konjured up by the organization. Jesse Jackson once again proves himself to be a mere sychophantic a-hole.

[C-Dawg]

Things work well in our marketplace economy when there is equality of opportunity, and freedom of choice. Baseball has both of those right now. But if the government--or any outside force--interrupts that natural process, then it will just screw everything up. Consider from a business perspective, the example set by the NBA. Starting in the early 90's they began to market almost exclusively to blacks, the black community and black wannabes. Their sport is now almost completely irrelevant. Similarly, the NHL started going European several years back, and now hockey has fallen so far from the national consciousness that their playoffs aren't even on mainstream national television. I hope MLB will not allow themselves to be bullied into a similar fate.

[AtlFan7]

Between this and the whole racist America cries over the crap ESPN has tried to pull with this poll they're running shows how stupid the black people are over the issue.

Not that it needs further explanation, but could you elaborate on this statement of yours? So, if African-Americans hold a view that is different from your own (on any given subject), that makes us stupid?

[McCarroll21]

I didn't mean to generalize all black people into one group, but the black people who speak up about this are only after one thing ... and it's not equality.

It's just they'll take anything and make it a story.

Sorry for making a broad general statement like that. I know that not all black people are as insane as some of these who live for the national media, same as white people and the white people who do the same.

[oyhstah crachah]

Consider from a business perspective, the example set by the NBA. Starting in the early 90's they began to market almost exclusively to blacks, the black community and black wannabes. Their sport is now almost completely irrelevant.
I don't know where you live, but saying that the NBA is almost completely irrelevant is ridiculous. I wouldn't agree that the NBA's business plan was to start marketing exclusively to blacks, either, as much as that a good deal of their players started to come out of low income urban neighborhoods and brought with them some of the "ghetto" styles and some run ins with the law that tend to follow poorer kids (kind of like Pacman Jones) that you seem to be referring to.

[lavell12]

Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are two racist and ant-semites that need to go home and shut up. They have done nothing for the black community but make their situation worse, when whites see these two they turn against the black community and that is unfair to people that don't share the opinion of Jackson or Sharpton.

[Chief Knockahoma]

Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are two racist and ant-semites that need to go home and shut up. They have done nothing for the black community but make their situation worse, when whites see these two they turn against the black community and that is unfair to people that don't share the opinion of Jackson or Sharpton.

nice post, very true.

[Chopaholic]

TConsider from a business perspective, the example set by the NBA. Starting in the early 90's they began to market almost exclusively to blacks, the black community and black wannabes. Their sport is now almost completely irrelevant.

I do not agree. Mainly b/c I bet more than 80% of the people who go to NBA games are white. I do not have the exact numbers but more than not the crowd at the game seems to be white. Now if you were talking about sponsors it might be different.

[C-Dawg]

I do not agree. Mainly b/c I bet more than 80% of the people who go to NBA games are white. I do not have the exact numbers but more than not the crowd at the game seems to be white. Now if you were talking about sponsors it might be different.

Okay so 80% of the half-empty stands are white....That's still pretty irrelevant if ya asked me.

[Chopaholic]

Okay so 80% of the half-empty stands are white....That's still pretty irrelevant if ya asked me.


I was just saying that if they were exclusively marketing to blacks then you would not have 80% of the half empty stands being white. Irrelevant or not.

[oyhstah crachah]

NBA Attendance Figures, 2006-07 Regular Season:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/attendance?sort=home_pct&year=2007&seasonType=2

And if you're too lazy to read that, wikipedia sums it up nicely:

The NBA concluded the regular season with their highest average attendance and highest total attendance in league history. Average attendance was 17,757 fans per game, while total attendance was 21,841,480.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006-07_NBA_season

Just cause the Hawks and Grizzlies suck, doesn't mean nobody goes to the games. Half empty my ass.

[gitrdone48]

This pisses me off. If African Americans don't want to play baseball, it's their choice. It seems like the majority of young black athletes want to play basketball/football. I f'n hate having diversity pushed in anything, I think it's garbage. Jesse Jackson can go straight to hell for all I care.

[cjones1999]

BAH! no one needs to be spoonfed a baseball, or any sports career while there are people working their asses off for one.

and i guess jesse jackson proclaimed himself king of the afro-americans a long time ago

[Freeze]

Why aren't they bugging any hockey teams?

[cjones1999]

Why aren't they bugging any hockey teams?
i don't know....if you do some reaserch, you will find that it was black people that invented hockey

and another thing that bugs me is that damn joe morgan started his racial "rantings" on JRD by directly pointing out,almost attacking the astros for not having a black player.And what really pissed me off was when he talked about the braves not having one.HELLO joe morgan look at our shortstop!

[McCarroll21]

Renteria is not black. Way to make yourself look clueless.

Willie Harris and Terry Pendleton are the only black players we have on the roster... if you can call TP on the roster.

[cjones1999]

Renteria is not black. Way to make yourself look clueless.
he looks pretty black to me

[McCarroll21]

Renteria is Columbian. Not African American. Way to make yourself look clueless.

But there are a lot of teams that don't have any black players. The Yankees are one. The Cardinals won the World Series last year without one. It's not just the Braves that don't.

[cjones1999]

whatever dude,this is getting off topic anyway

[Rick]

On " Pardon The Interruption " today on ESPN , co-host Michael Wilbon who is an African American said he was sick and tired of hearing that baseball does not have enough black players . He said it is obvious that the reason for this is simply that blacks are more interested in football and basketball. Nuff said .

[McCarroll21]

http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070402/SPORTS/70401023/1075
An encounter with Torii Hunter Jr., 11-year-old son of the Minnesota Twins’ center fielder, foreshadows the future of African-Americans in baseball.

“My favorite sport,” Hunter Jr. said, within earshot of his father, “is basketball.”

“You see what I’m up against?” said Hunter Sr., 31, who has been coming to Fort Myers for spring training since 1993. “I can’t even get my own son to like baseball.”

Hunter Jr. plays baseball but places it second or third on his list of favorites — behind basketball and football. He isn’t alone among young African-American athletes.I think this explains a lot. Even the kids of current major leaguers rank baseball behind basketball and maybe football.

[vnodnarb]

unfortunately controversy sells, and nothing in this country is more controversial than race so the media will use it every way possible and it sucks but i dont expect it to go away in our lifetimes

[was385]

McCarroll, the Cards actually had Preston Wilson on their roster last year.

Anyways, I took a strong stand on the subject in my last blog post so check it out. I just couldn't take that garbage when I read it so I had to say something.

http://mvn.com/mlb-braves/2007/05/08/jackson-brings-his-crucade-to-the-ted/

[McCarroll21]

Was Wilson on their playoff roster? I remember reading something that they didn't have an African American. Didn't look it up, but yeah... they did and still do have Wilson. Must have either been a misprint or he wasn't on the playoff roster. Who knows, I guess I should have looked it up though.

[GrandMasterB]

unfortunately controversy sells, and nothing in this country is more controversial than race so the media will use it every way possible and it sucks but i dont expect it to go away in our lifetimes

Great point. I couldn't agree more. I'll take it a step further though. Not only will it not go away in our lifetimes, I don't see it going away in any of the near future generations. If anything, it's getting worse.

[McCarroll21]

I think we're reverting back now in terms of racism in America. I think it started to equal out, but then a new stem of racism has started up as a result of the radical type of action that groups like Jackson and Sharpton put on.

It's like racism in the media (these groups vs. white) has started a movement to greater racism.

For me, I'm not going to deny it and act like I'm completely exempt from racism, but I'm not hateful of people because they're black. I hate the black people who make everything racial, and I also hate the fact that if white people had some of the groups that black people do, everyone in it would be called racist and Jackson's mug would be all over TV talking about it.

[C-Dawg]

NBA Attendance Figures, 2006-07 Regular Season:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/attendance?sort=home_pct&year=2007&seasonType=2

And if you're too lazy to read that, wikipedia sums it up nicely:



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006-07_NBA_season

Just cause the Hawks and Grizzlies suck, doesn't mean nobody goes to the games. Half empty my ass.


Obviously, there are some markets where the NBA is still popular....there are certain players and teams that are keeping the league afloat....it doesn't mean that overall the majority of mainstream America couldn't care less about the NBA. Rather than comparing the NBA's pitiful attendance numbers this year with those of year's past, why not compare the attendance and overall enthusiasm for the NBA with that of college football and basketball and the NFL?

[FalconPride]

C-Dawg, that is woefully ignorant. "Some markets where the NBA is still popular?" The league averages 17,757, or 92.3% of the areanas were full. Beyond that, you stated that the NBA is marketed exclusively to blacks and "black wannabees." Yeah, the game doesn't market Steve Nash at all. They don't go to Europe and market the game to bring back great players from the European game. Is basketball dominated by African Americans? Sure, but that's not because of your belief that the game is marketing itself only to them, but because there are more black athletes focusing on basketball.

The NBA has never has the attendance and ethusiasm that NCAA football and the NFL does. I would say until March Madness, the NBA is about as exciting as NCAA basketball.

[oyhstah crachah]

Obviously, there are some markets where the NBA is still popular....there are certain players and teams that are keeping the league afloat....it doesn't mean that overall the majority of mainstream America couldn't care less about the NBA. Rather than comparing the NBA's pitiful attendance numbers this year with those of year's past, why not compare the attendance and overall enthusiasm for the NBA with that of college football and basketball and the NFL?
You were too lazy to even read the quote? :( Last time I checked, pitiful wasn't listed as a synonym for record attendance... I agree that MLB and the NFL are more popular, NCAAF in some places, and NCAAB only in March. The attendance figures are pretty hard to compare to other sports because of the different number of games and different capacities of the venues, but this isn't what this is about. You said that it was irrelevant, which may be true for you, but not for the vast majority of people. Also, considering that you've been proven wrong about most of the other stuff you said, you're opinion doesn't seem very worthwhile right now.

[McCarroll21]

Also, considering that you've been proven wrong about most of the other stuff you said, you're opinion doesn't seem very worthwhile right now.Might be the best sentence in this entire thread. :D

[C-Dawg]

Here is an article from ESPN which kinda illustrates my point.

But don't take my word for it, take the people's plebiscite. NBA attendance is down, while NFL attendance sets a new record almost annually. NBA ratings have fallen almost 45 percent in the past decade, while NFL ratings remain tops in sports and have been rising mildly in recent years. For a decade the quality of the NBA product has been going downhill. The NBA's attitude is that fans are too stupid to notice. But fans know about the decline and are paying steadily less attention. Please, oh football gods, don't let this spread to the NFL!

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=tmq/030610

THis article is a few years old, but to the extent that this trend may have been retarded in recent years, it would be a testament to Stern's efforts to get away from the thug image that permeated the sport for so long. Such efforts have included the infusion of European players, the new dress code and banning players from carrying guns and so forth.