Dodgers: Dave Roberts calls out country’s leaders, disappointed little has changed

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts offers an emotional response to current events.

On Tuesday, Dave Roberts, the first African American manager in Los Angeles Dodgers history, offered his thoughts about racism and the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man killed at the hands of white police officers in Minnesota that has sparked protests throughout the country.

Roberts points the finger at the country’s leaders for not being “good listeners” in order to learn what is required to promote change.

“For me, the leaders of our country, unfortunately, aren’t good listeners and that’s how you impose change,” Roberts told the Los Angeles Times. “People of color want to be heard. And when you have leaders that are put in positions to make change and don’t want to have those uncomfortable conversations, then change isn’t going to happen. There’s a difference between being educated and being ignorant. You have to understand that these situations happen every single day to people of color.”

Roberts was born in Naha, Okinawa to an African American father and Japanese mother. His father was the first African-American in his high school, before serving the country for 30 years in the military.

In an emotional conversation with SportsNet LA on Tuesday, Roberts also pointed the finger at his own generation for not doing a better job of advancing the progress passed down from his father’s generation.

“To put eyes on that situation and how [George Floyd] was murdered, I just can’t get that visual out of my head, and nor should we,” Roberts told John Hartung on Tuesday. “But I think for me, as a minority, as an African American, mixed race, man of color. My father was the first African American in his high school and talked about the civil rights movement and served our country for 30 years. I was telling my kids the other day that I apologize because my dad served our country […] and it seems we haven’t gained any ground. Here we are as parents and as a generation that’s trying to lead the youth and have certain expectations and we can’t get it right.”

As Roberts conducted an interview with SportsNet LA under quarantine from his home in San Diego, the city of Los Angeles issued a curfew for the third consecutive day on Tuesday, as protests have been marred by violence, leading to nearly 3,000 people to be taken into custody between Friday and Tuesday morning.

The Los Angeles Dodgers organization and players have issued statements against police brutality.

On Monday, the Los Angeles Dodgers issued a statement on Twitter denouncing racism while invoking the symbolism of Jackie Robinson to promote positive change.

On Tuesday, the Dodgers social media accounts joined the #BlackoutTuesday campaign that saw many accounts posting blank, black boxes in support of protests against police brutality.

Many Dodgers players have also posted in solidarity with #BlackoutTuesday, and several have issued their own statements to express their feelings about racism and police brutality.

It is certainly a challenging time for the country.