Blue Jays and Red Sox players agreed Thursday not to play their game in Buffalo, N.Y. They joined a widespread effort by MLB players to raise awareness of racial injustice in North America in light of Jacob Blake, a Black man, being shot by a police officer in Kenosha, Wis., on Aug. 23.
Seven games in all were postponed Thursday, adding to the three that were called off Wednesday.
The Jays and Sox released a joint statement saying they stood behind their players' decision.
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) August 27, 2020
The Red Sox were the drivers of the boycott: They voted not to play after center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr., the team's lone Black player, took himself out of the lineup to make a personal statement. The Blue Jays followed their division rival's lead after learning of Bradley's withdrawal.
FAGAN: Consider listening for once instead of raging at players who protest
"I've been a victim of racism," Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo, a Puerto Rico native, told reporters, per MLB.com after the game was called. "I know some players have also been victims of racial discrimination. If a player wants to use his platform to make a statement about racial injustice, I fully support that."
Red Sox outfielder Kevin Pillar, the former Blue Jays center fielder, is hopeful that the teams' decision can start people on a path to coming up with solutions.
"You hope it's a starting point," he said. (Video via WLNE-TV in Providence, R.I.) "You hope it's a conversation to be had as opposed to people watching a Red Sox game, maybe they're talking to their family, maybe they're talking to their neighbors about what's going on in the world. coming up with ideas on how to make this a better place."
Blue Jays DH Rowdy Tellez recalled such a conversation he had with former teammate Anthony Alford, who is Black. They spoke on June 19 of this year, Juneteenth, the date that marks the end of slavery in the U.S. following the end of the Civil War in 1865.
"You have to have that uncomfortable talk, and we had that uncomfortable talk and that tense talk in the clubhouse about the [Black Lives Matter] movement and everything that’s going on," Tellez said, via MLB.com. "We, as a team, supported Alford day in and day out. That’s a guy I loved almost more than my own life. I would lay down my life for that man."
The Pirates claimed Alford off waivers Thursday.
