Baseball gets caught looking

Chrystal O'Keefe sees players speaking up after SCOTUS reverses Roe, but conspicuously not the league they play in; Roger Cormier hopes for the future; Colleen Sullivan scopes out the Astros

Supreme disrespect is MLB not even pretending to care

By Chrystal O’Keefe

On June 24, Roe vs. Wade was overturned. It will now be up to states to decide on abortion bans, restrictions, etc. MLB has been silent on the Dobbs decision, which  dropped just a day after teams lauded Title IX on the 50th anniversary. The silence from MLB is deafening. 

There will always be politics in baseball. We stand for the anthem¹, removing our hats with a hand over our hearts. Teams don camo or stars and stripes on holidays and honor veterans during each game. 

Yet when a player speaks on an issue of injustice such as Black Lives Matter, they’re told to stick to sports. Colin Kaepernick lost his career after protesting police brutality. But it surrounds us as fans, and it’s time to talk about what’s happening in America. 

Two players have spoken out on what’s happening in this country. 

“It’s sad,”  Mets outfielder Mark Canha told Paige Leckie of MLB.com on Friday’s SCOTUS ruling. It’s just kind of a sad thing, sad moment, sad blip in our history here. And it feels like we’re going backward. I see [abortion] as a healthcare issue. And it’s just sad that having, you know, seen what my wife went through through pregnancy and, and it’s not an easy thing to go through for a woman in most cases, from what I understand.” 

Liam Hendriks, closer for the Chicago White Sox, also spoke out on Friday afternoon, telling Chicago’s 670 The Score, “If this had anything to do with men, there’d be no chance that this would be overturned. And that’s something that’s disgraceful.” 

Players like Canha and Hendriks are important to have as allies because they have the influence and platform to create movements to drive tangible societal changes. Their empowerment can be contagious, and brings other privileged athletes to work in conjunction with marginalized groups. When you look at the things these players stand for, such as racial injustice, pride and reproductive justice, they inspire others to get behind the movements that so many fans fight for daily. That’s what true allyship is.

Hendriks went on to say it was a terrible day for women’s rights, and questions what’s next, after the Supreme Court’s right wing already put everything from contraception to same-sex relationships on the chopping block.

Constitutional protections for abortion had been in place for nearly 50 years, and the SCOTUS ruling is expected to lead to abortion bans in half the states. 

Ideally, MLB will speak up on something that impacts many, instead of further alienating their fans that don’t fit in the cis white male category. But will they? No. And if they truly did, it would be insincere and too late at this point. 

I often go back to Jake Arrieta tweeting that he would be happy to help people pack after Donald Trump was elected as President. Typically, you can pinpoint a player’s views by checking who they follow on Twitter, or posts they like. It’s not often that players openly express their views, because so many would rather play it safe. I scan the replies like a masochist when team accounts share anything “controversial” such as Pride month, Black Lives Matter, or encouraging fans to get the COVID-19 vaccine. 

I know deep down that many people will remain ignorant, but I wish players would make a more concentrated effort to speak up for marginalized groups. I’m grateful for the good guys that spoke out about the SCOTUS ruling, as they are true allies of people like me. If only they could inspire their teammates to be better allies.