Jackie Robinson is an American hero. He was a revolutionary. He changed the world, and very few men in history could have done what he did. He was not just someone who was in the right place at the right time, he was the perfect man for a horrible time.
Please do not diminish Jackie’s achievement by comparing other breakthroughs to his breakthrough.
The movie 42 opened in theaters last Friday, I plan on seeing it this week. It is a movie about Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in baseball on April 15, 1947. Jackie went through hell, and he not only endured, but he persevered. Not able to dine at the same restaurants as his teammates, not even able to stay at the team hotel on the road, and with death threats a daily occurrence, Jackie Robinson performed day after day in this environment at such a high level that he won the National League Rookie of the Year award in 1947, went on the win the NL MVP in 1949, and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. His induction into the Hall of Fame was not based on his civil rights achievement, it was based objectively on his performance on the baseball field; though if they had a Hall of Fame for impact beyond baseball Jackie have his own wing.
There is NOTHING in today’s world that could compare to what Jackie Robinson did in 1947, not in sports, and not outside of sports. The election of our first black president was a momentous occasion for our nation. Even though I didn’t vote for him I went to his inauguration and was proud to be an American on that day. If we were to elect a female president it would also be a monumental event, but it couldn’t touch what happened in Brooklyn on April 15, 1947. The stats still say that women do not get equal pay for equal work and that is a shame. Jackie’s race couldn’t even dream about getting most jobs in this country, let alone getting fair pay. This brings to my reason for writing this article - four times this week I have heard someone compare the impending first gay athlete in team sports to Jackie Robinson (Baltimore Raven Brendon Ayanbadejo on ESPN radio, Bob Costas on the Dan Patrick Show, this Grantland article, and this Guardian article about gay former footballer Robbie Rogers).
Stop it, all of you.
I know this is a very timely issue for the gay debate, and with Jackie Robinson day on Monday and the release of this biopic I can see the temptation to make a comparison in sports. Yes, an openly gay athlete in professional team sports would be groundbreaking. I’m sure he would receive persecution for playing the game he loves and just happening to be gay. But let’s add some perspective to this discussion:
- Jackie debuted at Ebbets Field on April 15, 1947.
- Even though the Emancipation Proclamation technically freed the slaves on January 1, 1863, and the 13th amendment was adopted on December 6, 1865, the Civil Rights movement didn’t happen until much later.
- Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech wasn’t delivered until August 28, 1963 - a full 16 years after Jackie put on the Dodger blue! In this speech, in reference to the Emancipation Proclamation, Dr. King lamented, “one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free."
- We all saw Remember the Titans. That was based on a true story that happened in the 1970’s!
What is often lost to history is how ahead of its culture the Brooklyn Dodgers were for signing Jackie Robinson in 1947. That is not to say that Major League Baseball was in any way heroic in setting the stage for integration - the gentlemen’s agreement that existed between owners keeping all black athletes out of Major League Baseball for decades is a stain on baseball history that is nothing short of tragic. Branch Rickey signed a black man to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers thus de-segregating baseball in a society that was almost completely segregated in every other walk of life. Heck, Rosa Parks’ famous refusal to give up her bus seat didn’t even happen until the end of 1955! This should give us some picture of the monumental hill that Jackie had to climb.
To make comparisons today is to forget exactly how steep that hill was. Many have tried with the current gay rights debates. Don’t make this about that. This is way bigger than that.
We almost had our first example of an openly gay team sport athlete. He used to be my favorite young soccer player until he shared with the world that he is gay. The reason he is no longer my favorite soccer player is not because he is gay, but because he is no longer a soccer player. Robbie Rogers started with the Columbus Crew and played so well that he even got a few sniffs with the US National Team. His skills took him across the pond to play in England for Leeds United. He shared with the world his true identity on his blog, and also shared he was quitting professional football. He admitted that he could not do it, not at this time. He couldn’t play football in England with the whole world knowing he was gay. I don’t know Robbie and I am not going to judge his decision but I’m sure some are calling him a coward, some gay rights activists are wishing Robbie Rogers would be the one who would wave their flag on the pitches of British football. First you must realize this: there is a HUGE difference between English football and the environment of American sports. The Brits are a) significantly more obsessive about football than we are about...well...anything, and b) British football fans are still decades behind us when it comes to accepting those who are different. There are still instances where bananas are thrown at black players on the pitch. British football is surely not the right environment for Robbie to make his breakthrough. But what if he returned to the Columbus Crew? What if he played in America? Imagine what would happen at Crew Stadium if a fan threw a banana at a black player. That fan might not make it out alive. I would bet that the reaction to any gay-bashing coming from the stands might not be much different. I could be underestimating the mob mentality of soccer fans, but I don’t think I am.
My point is this: for better or for worse tolerance has won out. I am not so naive to believe that racism, sexism, and homophobia don’t exist. Racists and sexists are at least smart enough to keep their bigotry, if you will pardon the pun, in the closet, for the most part. Homophobia, however, is still something that many feel is their religious or political duty to shout from the street corner, but even they are becoming more and more marginalized. I have no idea how difficult the struggles of those in the gay community are, I’ve never walked in their shoes, but it would be absurd to compare them to what black Americans have experienced.
Early on the gay community had Will & Grace, Jackie had to have snipers positioned on the roof at Crosley Field in Cincinnati because the death threats were so serious. We now have legislation that makes abusing a homosexual a more serious crime than simply abusing someone who, let’s say, says something about your Mom, Jackie couldn’t even stay at the same hotel as his teammates. Today we have Glee and Ellen, Jackie didn’t even have MLK until almost 2 decades after he began his baseball career. Gays cannot legally marry their partners in most states, African Americans WERE ENSLAVED IN OUR COUNTRY FOR CENTURIES!
Don’t make this about that. Jackie Robinson was and is an American hero. While receiving abuse the likes of which I can’t even imagine he turned the other cheek, and then he stole home. He played with flair and carried himself with dignity. Others black baseball players followed. Eventually our nation followed.
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