Roberts speaks out

Despite his heritage as the son of an AfricanAmerican father and a Japanese mother, Roberts has been reluctant to speak out on racial issues. That changed last summer when the Dodgers chose not to play a game in solidarity with the protests against racial injustice across the country.

It continued in February when Roberts confirmed that he sent an email to everyone in the Dodger organization, speaking out against the rise of hate being directed toward AsianAmericans during the pandemic.

“I just think there’s a lot of things going on in and outside of our country towards Asians — racist, bullying acts,” Roberts said of his motivation in sending the email. “That obviously