Tyler Heineman and Trevor Gott. Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports; Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
The Giants players are beginning to speak out. In today’s parlance, that might mean eloquently showing support for minorities’ struggle for justice, and it might mean posting on social media and saying nothing at all.
Following last week’s viral video of George Floyd, who became the latest black man to die in police custody, with a knee on his neck for more than eight minutes as he pleaded, “I can’t breathe,” the protests have been loud, often included police violence, and broken out just about everywhere across the country.
Seeing so naked an instance of police brutality against a minority that ended in a death — yet another one — has ushered in a reckoning, sides being drawn as supporters want to make it known they are supporters. Athletes, with their platforms, have less a voice and more a microphone.
San Francisco manager Gabe Kapler displayed he was not going to stick to sports, joining the angry voices and calling the death of Floyd “shameful and maddening.” It has taken some time for some to follow, but a week later and with protests and riots springing up around the United States, many have spoken out.
Giants catcher Tyler Heineman posted Monday night, saying as a white man he “cannot and will not pretend to know what it feels like to live in fear because of the color of my skin.” Yet, the threat minorities face is plain to him, and he won’t be silent and let them suffer alone.
#BlackLiveMattters pic.twitter.com/OKpZaNhn42
— Tyler Heineman (@theineman13) June 2, 2020
Reliever Trevor Gott, meanwhile, has shown a willingness to use his platform to spread videos of police brutality:
https://twitter.com/Trevor_Gott/status/1267301528160874497
https://twitter.com/Trevor_Gott/status/1267673469925326848
On Blackout Tuesday, posting silence meant solidarity. The movement entailed posting a black screen, primarily on Instagram, overwhelming feeds with waves of black that were intended as a way of protesting racism and police brutality.
Among the Giants who joined the movement as of Tuesday afternoon (and there are certainly some who are unlisted, such is the prevalence of the statements): Brandon Crawford, Evan Longoria, Hunter Pence, Johnny Cueto, Gott, Dereck Rodriguez, Tyler Beede, Mike Yastrzemski, Donovan Solano, Austin Slater, Logan Webb, Mauricio Dubon, Jaylin Davis, Chris Shaw, Enderson Franco, Rico Garcia, Carlos Navas, Zach Green, Darin Ruf, Heineman, Jamie Westbrook, Sean Hjelle, Hunter Bishop, bench coach Kai Correa, pitching coach Andrew Bailey and assistant pitching coach Ethan Katz.
The trend is slightly polarizing; against a black backdrop, Westbrook, an outfielder who was sent to minor league camp shortly before spring training 1.0 ended, wrote: “Make sure you know who is actually for change and who is posting to stay neutral and hide behind a post. Know who is actually listening and having conversations.” When reached, Westbrook said he wanted to speak for himself on his social-media feeds.
In an Instagram story, reliever Jandel Gustave, who is of Haitian descent, said in Spanish that before people post black screens, “first ask yourself your opinions about Haitians and what is your treatment toward them.”
The bigger-name Giants players, led by Buster Posey, have allowed their voices to carry in the face-off between MLB and the union. The Giants have not needed the same major league pedigree to speak up against injustice.
“My post speaks for itself. I cannot even imagine being treated differently because of the color of my skin,” Heineman said in a text statement Tuesday that explained why he felt the need to speak out. “I think I’ve stayed silent because I was afraid to speak up and be criticized. But injustice like this keeps happening and it needs to stop. So, I’m no longer worried about how it will be perceived. Because I know, no matter how someone responds to my statement, it doesn’t even compare to the hate and discrimination that others go through on a daily basis. We are all God’s children. Made in the likeness of His image. And we should be treated as such.”
