Yankees: New York Finally Releases Statement in Response to George Floyd Death and Protests

The New York Yankees released a statement in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

It took long enough, but the Yankees have finally responded to the killing of George Floyd and the protests that have engulfed the world — specifically the United States — over the last week and a half.

Floyd was killed at the hands of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on May 25. The Yankees responded a week later with a quote from Nelson Mandela and then took another week to make sure they covered all possible grounds with this lengthy message to the organization, the fans and the public.

Better late than never, right? It’s hard to believe it took a $5 billion organization to effectively respond to the biggest worldwide issue over the past two weeks, but all of Major League Baseball was late to the game, which probably speaks more about how the collective handles issues such as these.

Former Yankees Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and CC Sabathia issued strong statements last week. Giancarlo Stanton was one of the first current players to make his voice heard and Aaron Judge finally broke his silence on Sunday with a post on Instagram.

The Yankees are quite literally a worldwide influence as the second most valuable sports franchise in the entire world. We understand there’s significant tension right now between the MLB and MLBPA in regards to playing the 2020 season, but others expect a bit more urgency on this front. Some would argue it shouldn’t take two weeks for an organization of the Yankees’ stature to issue a response to what’s affecting the overall state of America, especially when said organization employs a significant amount of minority players.

Nonetheless, New York took strides in speaking with its personnel and pledging support to those who suffer at the hands of racism and social injustice. In the end, we have to give credit where it’s due.