Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports
The reckoning with privilege, race, police brutality and hopeful possible steps toward equality that are dominating the country are showing their heads in the Giants organization as well.
On Thursday, the Giants held an organization-wide Zoom meeting in which minorities spoke up, sharing stories of racism invading their lives. On Saturday the Giants’ scoreboard read, “Black Lives Matter,” a message the team’s social-media accounts shared. Gabe Kapler shared the message a day later, and on Monday he explained what he is doing — concretely — to support the movement.
Here is the Giants manager’s message in full, as delivered in an Instagram story:
“The number one thing I can do right now is listen carefully to black people. I can hear their stories, their experiences and their pain. I can ask follow up questions. I can use my platform and my voice to amplify theirs. The follow up step is to encourage and have the difficult conversation in the clubhouse. Racism, sexism, homophobia and examples of privilege and inequality are happening all the time in the baseball environments as well as in society. White men are privileged. White men in leadership positions like the one I hold are more so. That means when we see opportunities to push raw, open and sometimes uncomfortable conversations like the ones black people are suggesting we have about racism and police brutality, we have to be the ones who open those up and give them larger platforms.
“Beyond that, I’m actively seeking out black owned businesses to patronize wherever I am in the world. I do the same for businesses owned by women. I’ll speak to my sons about this and challenge them as they challenge me to do better in this regard. Their generation will do better than mine. I will support leaders who embody these values and who are willing to address these issues. I will vote for people who will represent these ideals in our governments, both at the local and federal levels. I donate to causes that work to support equality and justice. I seek out diversity when I have the opportunity to hire people. And I recognize that these efforts are constant, continuing and must be lived every day and need amplification now more than ever.
“Finally, I know I don’t have the answers. I’m listening, I’m learning, and I’m hearing ideas from others who know much more than me on the right steps to take.”
Kapler, the public face of the team, has not been shy in expressing his disgust following video of the death of George Floyd, who died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck more than eight minutes, leading to widespread protests around the country.
Other Bay Area sports leaders such as Steve Kerr and Kyle Shanahan have been loud, honest and not particularly sports-centric in a market that appreciates progressive voices.
Asked why the death of Floyd pushed him into public anger, Kapler said last week: “I think it’s perhaps that it’s the fact that you need to ask that question. We shouldn’t have to ask ‘why this case’ about the deaths of unarmed black men in this country. It should be an abhorrent aberration when it happens instead of just another statistic. Unfortunately, that isn’t yet our reality.”
He also had told KNBR that the Giants “don’t look to keep anything out of the clubhouse,” suggesting if racial discussions happen, he won’t minimize them. A week later, he is pledging to do the very opposite, stating the team will talk about racial topics that many would steer clear of.
