Just A Minute: Here's A Symbolic Gesture That Every Team and League Could Make This Season

If pro teams and colleges really want to make a bold statement this season, why not show some black-jersey solidarity?

One can’t go a day without race issues and the ongoing protests spilling over into every facet of society, including sports.

Wednesday night, Bubba Wallace wore an “I can’t breathe” shirt, and drove a car painted with Black Lives Matter art at Martinsville Speedway. Meanwhile, NASCAR announced that it will no longer allow the Confederate flag to be flown at races. 

The Boston Red Sox released a statement that gave validation to statements that Torii Hunter made earlier this week about the racism he experienced at Fenway Park. As someone who has attended a lot of games there, I can verify that it’s absolutely true.

This is real. pic.twitter.com/gMp8MEPb46

— Red Sox (@RedSox) June 10, 2020

NFL players are back talking about taking a knee. 

NBA players are trying to figure out how they’re going to show solidarity.

You get the idea. A lot of people want to do something, even if it’s just symbolic.

If the pro leagues or even the colleges really want to make a lasting statement, how about this:

You know how for every game one team is in white and the other is in its team colors, or grays in baseball? (For those who don’t know this was originally done for TV when games were broadcast in black and white).

For this season, instead of white, why not have one team in every game wear black?

You could do it for the reworked Stanley Cup Playoffs. The finish to the NBA season, the NFL … everyone. And it would mean something because any highlight or photo will be used over and over again and only continue to remind us how this was important.

Then you put a patch on it as well, sell a ton of jerseys and donate the proceeds to the Black Lives Matter movement or improving police training — whatever. Each sport, each league, each team could have its own designated outlet.  

If the leagues won't do it, teams should do it on their own. The number of followers they might get could be staggering. 

Granted, football teams have to order their equipment a year in advance, but a lot of them already have some sort of black alternate jersey. One has to think outfitters like Nike and adidas would be all over this idea, especially since their sales are down. 

On the 57th anniversary of what's known as the Stand at the Schoolhouse Door, it could be the first thing that a lot of us agree on, and collectively get behind, in a long, long time. 

Just an idea ... 

... but I'd buy one.