It was illuminating to see Major League Baseball celebrate Independence Day with a variety of patriotic displays.  Many teams donned red, white and blue uniforms that, of course, will be sold in the marketplace.  All the players respectfully stood during the National Anthem and again later in the game when some teams like the Yankees play America the Beautiful.

Simply put, big league baseball honored the country yesterday and does so every day.

So what’s the difference between baseball and pro football where a strain of public dissent has caused major controversy as a few players would not stand for the National Anthem?

The answer is speculative but, I think, based on race.  Black players comprise about 70 percent of the National Football League but just 7 percent of Major League Baseball.

Hispanic players make up about 28 percent of MLB rosters.  Many of those players are from poor countries south of the border or in the Caribbean.  It’s safe to assume that they are happy to be playing in America where salaries for pro athletes are huge.

In the NFL, life is brutal and short.  The average player stays in the league for less than three years.  The gladiators well understand they are disposable commodities and that doesn’t generally lift their spirits.  

Baseball is a much kinder sport.  If a player avoids injury, he can play for years and amass a fortune.

So there is an edge to the NFL and football in general that does not exist in baseball, basketball, or even hockey. 

If you are angry about social injustice, you will find more kindred spirits in football.  It is a much more volatile atmosphere.  The game is violent and attracts aggressive personalities who take many things very personally.

There is little of that in baseball.

Add in the racial grievance component on the part of some African-Americans and that’s why you have far more political activism between the yard lines than on the diamond.

Tonight on BOR.com we will spend some time looking at the Fourth of July attacks on President Trump.  Do they mean anything anymore?

Thanks for visiting us, see you this evening.