While many organizations across the United States surrender to President Donald Trump’s demands to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion efforts across society, the New York Yankees are not one of them. And they don’t intend to be.
According to a report Tuesday in the New York Daily News, the Yankees remain committed to their D&I efforts, even if they’d prefer to not be so boisterous about it.
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“We are continually working with the members of our Diversity and Inclusion Committee and are actively engaged with our neighbors and community partners,” Brian Smith, the Yankees’ senior vice president of corporate and community relations, told the Daily News ahead of Jackie Robinson Day on Tuesday. “Our dedication towards these efforts remains unchanged, and our Diversity and Inclusion Committee continues to do its work.”
Per the Daily News, the Yankees created their D&I committee in Feb. 2021, less than a year after the police murder of George Floyd. According to the Yankees’ D&I page, which remains active, the five pillars of its efforts include diversity and inclusion in the organization, education, socioeconomic development, social responsibility and health and wellness.
“The Committee is comprised of a dedicated and diverse network of New York Yankees staff members, on-field personnel, alumni, and outside community leaders and business partners,” the site says. The Daily News reported that, per a source, the Yankees have not changed their hiring policies since Trump took office earlier this year.
But there is at least one person who fears blowback: One source, stating their personal worries, rather than an organization-wide belief, did say they had concerns about the Yankees’ D&I Committee getting on the Trump Administration’s radar.
It would not be the first time the sport had a change of heart.
According to reporter Craig Calcaterra and The Athletic in March, the MLB Careers home page no longer includes mentions of “diversity.”
Additionally, via The Athletic in its report:
Details regarding the league’s once-lauded Diversity Pipeline Program, which began as a means to combat the lack of diversity within MLB’s front offices, seem to have been entirely wiped from the site, too.
“As the commissioner stated, our values on diversity remain unchanged. We are in the process of evaluating our programs for any modifications to eligibility criteria that are needed to ensure our programs are compliant with federal law as they continue forward,” an MLB spokesman said in a statement to The Athletic.
The Athletic reported that the change on the MLB Careers page took place between Feb. 25 and March 4, about a month after MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred declared to reporters at the owners’ meetings the league’s values on diversity would remain “unchanged,” though they would “always try to comply with what the law is.”
The Daily News’ report came 10 days after a Forth Worth Star-Telegram story revealed it barely elicited any responses from teams when asked if they would continue their DEI efforts.
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