The Philadelphia Phillies were one of seven MLB teams that decided not to play in the wake of Kenosha, Wisconsin, when the police shot Jacob Blake.
The team issued a statement saying: “We support your decision to use your platform to draw attention to the racial and social injustice that continues to exist in our country … We will continue to support our players and those on the frontline working to bring about real responsibility and change in our society . “
Months earlier, the team had joined the chorus of professional sports teams that issued statements condemning the assassination of George Floyd:
On Saturday, the Phillies proved these statements to be empty by acquiring the Giants’ reliever Sam Coonrod from candidate Carson Ragsdale.
Coonrod made clear his position on the issue of racial justice when he refused to kneel with his fellow Giants:
“I just can’t agree with some of the things I read about Black Lives Matter, how they lean towards Marxism, and … they said some negative things about the nuclear family,” said Coonrod. “I just can’t get on with it.”
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Despite the divisive potential of putting a MAGA guy on a list of guys who strongly sympathized with the protests over the Blake shooting, you can understand that from the perspective of baseball when you realize that … check the notes … an ERA 9.82 last year.
The Phillies and their fans have a long and shameful history of racism, including harassing Jackie Robinson in his debut season, not having a black player until 1957 and the city turning against Dick Allen after teammate Frank Thomas was racially motivated to attack to him.
Phillies fans evaluated the team’s official Twitter announcement very quickly: