Look, I love baseball, and I am a proponent of just about everything that the sport does to promote itself, but I'm going to take a soapbox here and spout off about one of baseball's silliest practices: Jackie Robinson Day.
Of course I believe that integration in baseball was a good thing, and people of every race and ethnicity should be able to play our national past time without question. I am not speaking against civil rights, but I am speaking against the primitive way that Major League Baseball chooses to honor Jackie Robinson's legacy every year. During today's games, all players across baseball will wear the #42 on their jersey, and somehow this is special because that particular uniform number has been retired from use throughout the sport.
Major League Baseball may have the best intentions, however the actual practice of everyone wearing #42 is confusing and foolish. In my opinion, Jackie Robinson Day is transparent pandering to a society fixated on race relations. I am aware that some people may interpret my sentiments as closeted racism, however I am merely stating the fact that Jackie Robinson Day is overkill. Robinson's number has already been retired across the league forever - isn't that a grand enough gesture to honor his legacy?!
If the Los Angeles Dodgers wanted to wear a patch and hold a ceremony, that would be amazing and I would hope to see them do that every year. However to have every player on every team wear identical uniforms, it kind of smacks in the face of the whole notion of integration - as a matter of fact it feels something like nouveau fascism. Woah, that's ironic.
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