For a country who prides itself on equality, there are still many ignorant people out there sadly. Unfortunately, yesterday outside of MCU Park in Brooklyn, NY somebody chose to express their ignorance. Outside of the baseball stadium is a statue of former Brooklyn Dodgers teammates Jackie Robinson and Pee Wee Reese in an iconic moment where Reese put his arm around Robinson during his rookie year. Somebody chose to write extremely racist and hateful words on the statue during the night. When a manager of the park showed up to work at 8:30 AM, he was greeted with the unpleasant site. Immediately the manager called the police who combed through hours of surveillance video from the previous night and a cleaning crew who had the task of scrubbing off the hateful messages.
With no prominent leads, the New York Daily News has taken it upon themselves to set up a reward for anyone with information related to the crime. Anybody with information that would lead to an arrest and conviction will receive $10,000. If anyone has information, please contact Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS.
The statue was erected in 2005 as a way to remember one of the greatest moments in American history. Robinson was playing in his rookie year in Cincinnati when hecklers started screaming racist remarks at him. Reese decided to run over to Robinson and put his arm around him and show that Robinson was no different than anyone else. Former teammate of Robinson and Reese, Ralph Branca, recalls the moment, “It was a great gesture on his part. That took some guts, some courage.” It was the first step in embracing people of other races in different sports. Reese showed that they were all teammates and fans should embrace Robinson as well. Anyone who has a problem with that does not belong in this country.
Senator Chuck Schumer also spoke publicly about the incident, “I hope you’re punished for what you did because what [you] did put a dagger in the heart of what America is all about. That there are still people who don’t understand what Jackie Robinson stood for in his grace, and his strength and the beautiful person he was and to try and deface him, defame him by defacing this statue is just an act of . . . it’s beyond words to me.” It is sad that our world still has such hate in it. Discrimination based on race, gender, or sexual orientation is deplorable.
