Baseball bristled Monday at a report that criticizes its progress in minority advancement, although the widow of Jackie Robinson said she suspects the study might be on target.
The report, released by the Center for the Study of Sport in Society at Northeastern University, said that while football and basketball rate high grades for minority opportunities, baseball gets only a ”C” for its efforts. Like a school kid disappointed by a report card, baseball defended its record.
Clifford Alexander, the Washington consultant hired by former commissioner Peter Ueberroth to monitor minority progress, cited the appointment in 1989 of Bill White, a black, as president of the National League. White is the highest ranking minority member in any sports league.
But Rachel Robinson thought baseball may still have some catching up to do.
”Baseball deserves credit for Bill White,” she said. ”They benefit from it. One person doesn`t take care of the whole issue, though. Our impression is that there has not been a change in the basic attitude.”
Robinson also took commissioner Fay Vincent to task. ”We have not heard much from this commissioner on the subject,” she said. ”Our hopes had been raised by Peter Ueberroth. There`s more than can be done.”
The Jackie Robinson Foundation is about to launch its own study into the issue. What it will find, Alexander said, is significant progress. ”In total, baseball is far ahead in front-office hirings,” he said. ”Those are the facts.”
