100-plus to donate JR Day salary to Alliance
Dodgers left-hander David Price, Cubs outfielder Jason Heyward and Brewers outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. are among more than 100 Major League players of all races and backgrounds who have pledged to donate their gameday salaries on Jackie Robinson Day to support The Players Alliance, the organization announced Wednesday.
The Players Alliance, a nonprofit organization founded by a group of active and former MLB players with the goal of improving representations of Black Americans in baseball, will honor Robinson’s life and legacy by launching the Breaking Barriers campaign.
As part of the campaign, The Players Alliance will make a financial commitment to the Jackie Robinson Foundation supporting the launch of a scholarship fund aiming to provide aid to students as soon as the fall 2021 semester.
“On April 15, we honor Jackie Robinson as the first player to break the color barrier, a reminder there is still much work to be done in our game,” former MLB player and Players Alliance president Curtis Granderson said in a statement. “As The Players Alliance seeks to bridge the gap of racial inequity in baseball, we’re encouraging players, on this date especially, to consider supporting the Alliance and our efforts to continue Jackie’s legacy of breaking barriers.”
The Players Alliance raised more than $1 million on Jackie Robinson Day in 2020, and it invested proceeds directly into Black communities. Initiatives included the Players Pull Up tour, which provided pantry supplies and other resources to more than 20,000 families in need amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Alliance also partnered with MLB to provide $1 million worth of baseball equipment to kids across the country.
Thursday will mark 74 years since Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier when he made his Major League debut for the Dodgers.