The unique perspective and provocative opinions of Joe O’Neill
Sports Shorts
In 1986 more than 18 percent of MLB players were African-American. These days it’s 7 percent.
Rays’ update: Nelson Cruz has been named MLB’s 2021 Roberto Clemente Award winner. The award is given to the player who best exemplifies community involvement, philanthropy and sportsmanship. And the Rays’ Kevin Cash was named the American League’s top manager for the third consecutive year.
Talk is heating up about the Atlanta Braves “tomahawk chop” and how it’s indigenously insulting. Ironic that this is much more an Atlanta issue than the place where it began: Florida State University, home of the Seminoles. Maybe it’s because FSU contributes a percentage of paraphernalia sales to the Seminole Tribe and provides a curricular place for Seminole history. In short, FSU inclusively salutes–rather than cluelessly mimics–its Seminole roots. But it would help if the football team were better.