In an intriguing decision, Minnesota Twins ownership weighed in on the Derek Chauvin trial Tuesday afternoon, ahead of the ultimate verdict, with a divisive statement from ownership.
The tweet from the Pohlad family opens with a trope about how “toxic and prevalent systemic and individual racism are to our community.”
A message from #MNTwins ownership: pic.twitter.com/TmDvdzahI5
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) April 20, 2021
They then explain they’re “horrified and ashamed that this keeps happening to Black people in our community.”
The Pohlads, worth several billion dollars, also listed money they’ve donated to “racial justice,” along with “BIPOC” businesses, nonprofits and communities.
The statement concludes with a plea to “treat each other with respect and compassion.”
Several hundred comments below were mixed, with some fans offering praise and others asking why the team is again bringing politics into sports, rather than focusing on winning baseball games.
The Twins’ rhetoric comes on the heels of similar calculated statements from President Joe Biden and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.
Target Field has posted “End Racism” and “Justice for George Floyd” signs on stadium walls since last summer, and the team canceled a game last week due to the Daunte Wright shooting.
A.J. Kaufman
A.J. Kaufman is an Alpha News columnist. His work has appeared in the Baltimore Sun, Florida Sun-Sentinel, Indianapolis Star, Israel National News, Orange County Register, St. Cloud Times, Star-Tribune, and across AIM Media Midwest and the Internet. Kaufman previously worked as a school teacher and military historian.
