Reds’ Votto vows to wake up to privilege
Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto penned an essay in The Cincinnati Enquirer on Sunday that addressed his previously incomplete regard for racism against African-americans and a newfound understanding of his white privilege. “Everything inside of me wants things to go back to normal,” Votto wrote in the piece titled “My awakening.”
“I don’t want to protest, raise my voice, or challenge someone. I don’t want to have heated arguments, break up friendships, or challenge previous norms. But I hear you now, and so that desire for normalcy is a privilege by which I can no longer abide.”
Millions around the country, including high-profile athletes, have protested police brutality and racial injustice following George Floyd’s death May 25 in Minneapolis. Floyd, a black man, died in police custody after an officer held his knee against Floyd’s throat for nearly nine minutes. The officer, Derek Chauvin, was charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The other three officers at the scene were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. All four officers were fired.
The national movement of protests has prompted NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to admit he was wrong in how he handled players who knelt during the national anthem in peaceful protest.
“That privilege kept me from understanding the ‘why’ behind Colin Kaepernick’s decision to kneel during the national anthem,” Votto wrote. “That privilege allowed me to ignore my black teammates’ grievances about their experiences with law enforcement, being profiled, and discriminated against. And that privilege has made me complicit in the death of George Floyd, as well as the many other injustices that blacks experience in the U.S. and my native Canada.”
Votto explained in the beginning of the op-ed how a black teammate sent him the video of Floyd being killed and how he initially dismissed it in protection of police. Then, he said, he watched it and wept.
Voto is a six-time MLB All-star and was the National League MVP in 2010.