Reds' Garrett feared discussing racism would get him 'pushed out' of baseball
Cincinnati Reds left-hander Amir Garrett admitted he was hesitant to voice his opinions about racial injustice out of fear of losing his job.
The reliever wanted to speak up more about racial discrimination following the death of George Floyd while in police custody in May, but he was concerned he might end up in a situation like that of quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
"I was scared to talk about these injustice issues we were having because in baseball, there's not a lot of African Americans that play the game and I was nowhere near Kaepernick (in prominence)," Garrett said, according to Joe Kay of The Associated Press. "I felt I could be pushed out of the game. That was really scary for me.
"But now I felt in my heart I was ready to handle the consequences of whatever may have come from this."
Garrett, who reflected on being pulled over and harassed by police in high school, has begun to open up about his experiences.
On Saturday, the 28-year-old shared some of what he's gone through during a video session with roughly 130 players and organization members as well as a diversity and inclusion advocate.
"It really took a lot for me to get vulnerable with my teammates like that," Garrett explained. "I never want somebody to feel sorry for me, or I never want to feel a victim. It took a lot for me to open up to those guys.
"I feel we're so much closer than we were just two days ago. I felt people understood what I was sharing with them, and even though they may never fully understand what it's like to be Black in America, I felt I got my point across and they felt everything I was saying."
Black players represented just 7.7% of major leaguers last season, according to USA TODAY Sports.