Kyler Murray hails Reggie Jackson for telling the ‘real story’ as MLB legend narrates account of indelible scars of Jim Crow era racism
Kyler Murray wants everyone to listen to what Reggie Jackson had to say. The MLB veteran was part of the festivities as the league held a game to honor the Negro League on June 20, and he gave a pointed summary of the racism he endured as a player.
Alex Rodriguez asked Jackson about what it was like coming back to the field that once held the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro League after being a pioneer for players like Rodriguez later on. Jackson admitted it wasn't easy before going into the details about playing in the Jim Crow era.
It got Murray, a former baseball player himself, listening, and he implored everyone else to do the same. The Arizona Cardinals QB said on X:
"Worth the listen. Respect to Reggie Jackson for telling real history and giving a great answer."
Murray was selected 10th overall in the 2018 MLB draft by the Oakland Athletics, so he very nearly had a baseball career of his own. He had a choice to make, and he ultimately chose football after being selected first overall by the Arizona Cardinals.
To date, he is the only player to be drafted in the first round in both sports. He is. not, however, the only person to be drafted in two sports, as plenty of baseball players and football players have been drafted for both.
What Reggie Jackson said that caught Kyler Murray's ear
Part of the reason for the Rickwood Field game that Kyler Murray was evidently tuned into was an homage to the late Willie Mays, who died just days before the game. He was one of those pioneers Alex Rodriguez had asked Reggie Jackson about.
Jackson began delivering his powerful message by admitting that it was hard to come back to a place that brought back memories of racism. He continued, adding that he wouldn't wish what he went through on anybody (via CNN):
“They grew up in an era when if you had a complaint about the game or a complaint about society – you suppressed it. Today’s player doesn’t do that.”
Jackson was a pioneer in his own right, further helping to pave the way for players like Murray (had he chosen baseball) to eventually have their own MLB careers without all the baggage. Jackson said of Mays:
“The way that he showed the love of the game, the way he respected the game – even when he had a complaint about what may have been going on about minorities or whatever. In his era … you didn’t speak about it. He loved the game so much that he refrained.”
Athletes today have more of a voice with which to discuss social issues, and much of that is thanks to players like Reggie Jackson and Willie Mays.