MLB, MLBPA Pledge $10M To Players Alliance For Diversity Efforts

MLB and the MLBPA have pledged $10M to the Players Alliance, the nonprofit "formed this summer by more than 100 current and former Black players," according to James Wagner of the N.Y. TIMES. The donation announced this morning "will be dispersed annually over five years, financing initiatives including a player-led mentorship program, a program meant to recruit Black students to internships in the sport and another meant to donate baseball equipment to Black groups in need throughout the country." The donation from MLB and the union was "timely." Former MLBer and Players Alliance President Curtis Granderson said that the group "had no money in its bank account before the pledge." The $10M "will allow the group to expand and formalize more initiatives." Tigers LF Cameron Maybin said that he had recently discussed with former MLBer and Players Alliance Vice President C.C. Sabathia about "how to help finance youth travel teams, because playing baseball is expensive." Details are still being ironed out, but Granderson said that the Players Alliance "hoped to pay for or help set up young Black men or women with entrees into the sport, from front offices to coaching staffs to apparel company positions" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/21). ESPN.com's Joon Lee notes the Players Alliance will also "support programs from MLB and the Player's Association" (ESPN.com, 9/21).

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