The Yankees may have to sign a new pitcher, because the one they have lined up for Opening Day at Yankee Stadium on Aug. 15 ain’t cuttin’ it.
After learning that the Bombers have invited Pres. Donald Trump to lob the first pitch at the stadium, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. said he was “shocked and outraged.”
In a press release, Diaz called the Yanks out for hypocrisy, noting that “On June 8, the Yankees released a statement that in part read: “Black lives matter. The New York Yankees condemn racism, prejudice and injustice in all forms.” But, “By inviting President Trump to throw out the first pitch, they are blatantly demonstrating that their pronouncements are cynical and devoid of genuine meaning.”
Diaz suggested Bronxites confront the home team.
“Perhaps, in fact, the words ‘Black Lives Matter’ should now also be painted on the street outside of Yankee Stadium, the same as Trump Tower,” he said, and added that “We all deserve better than a careless major league baseball organization that consistently ignores the surrounding community while pandering to an unapologetic white supremacist like Donald Trump.
“Many local workers have lost their jobs – including those small businesses right next door to Yankee Stadium” he went on to say. “Roughly 150,000 Americans, including nearly 4,000 Bronxites, have died due to COVID-19. The Yankees would be better served by honoring them and their families rather than a president whose bluster and incompetence utterly failed to restrain the pandemic.
“Donald Trump has sowed division and fanned the flames of hatred in our country. Bronxites in particular have had to deal with the rotten fruits of his discriminatory practices, bearing cuts to essential programs and services while promoting unjust and cruel immigration policies, most recently his catastrophic national mismanagement of the COVID-19 crisis.”
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