(Yahoo) Directly before the start of an abbreviated 2020 MLB draft, commissioner Rob Manfred delivered a statement on racial inequality in which he said “Black Lives Matter” and said Major League Baseball would use its platform to actively push for social change.
Manfred is the first major commissioner to make such a statement on national television, though NFL commissioner Roger Goodell made waves when he proclaimed “Black Lives Matter” and admitted his league mishandled past player protests after a public push from NFL stars.
Separately, the United States Soccer Federation’s board of directors has voted to repeal the 2017 rule that required players to stand during the playing of the national anthem. The decision was taken Tuesday but didn’t become public knowledge until Wednesday.
The rule was introduced in early 2017 after Megan Rapinoe, one of the biggest stars on the world champion U.S. women’s national team, knelt to peacefully protest social injustice before a pair of games in late 2016.
