The Tampa Bay Rays are set to open up their 2020 season at home Friday evening against the Toronto Blue Jays.
It’s a season in which Tampa Bay has both division title and World Series aspirations. But the team apparently has a lot more on its minds hours before first pitch.
Primarily, the Rays’ social media team took Friday morning to enlist its support for Black Lives Matter and call for the officers involved in the Breonna Taylor killing to face justice.
We have seen high-profile sports stars call for the arrests of the Louisville Metro Police Department officers involved in the killing of the 26-year-old Taylor back in March.
By now, her story is well known.
Fall out following Breonna Taylor shooting
Back on May 25, an African-American man by the name of George Floyd was killed by a then-Minneapolis police officer. Unarmed at the time, the video of Floyd’s murder caught the attention of the nation and led to widespread protests.
At about the same time, we started to hear the details of Mrs. Taylor’s killing. Three plainclothes police officers with a no-knock warrant entered her apartment. Gunfire was exchanged between Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, and the officers.
An emergency medical technician, Taylor was shot eight teams and died as officers failed to provide aid or call for help.
Taylor’s death has been a lightning rod when it comes to the Black Lives Matter protests in recent months.
For their part, the Rays also focused on the current overall protests pertaining to racial inequality and police brutality in the United States.
MLB response to Black Lives Matter movement
The 2020 season officially kicked off Thursday with the New York Yankees defeating the Washington Nationals and the San Francisco Giants falling to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The backdrop was surreal with pretty much every coach and player on all four teams taking a knee ahead of the national anthem to show their support for Black Lives Matter.
It’s something we’re likely going to see a whole lot of with a full slate of games around the baseball world on Friday.