Home of Mondays & Fridays with Sean.
i walked into work the other day
unobstructed,
i passed by
the cubicles of people who
greeted me with warmth
while other’s avoided eye contact
in a way they thought was sly/
i began to wonder
‘what if the people who avoided eye contact’
petitioned in an effort
to prevent me from getting my job…
what if they called me ‘nigger’
behind my back
as my talent
helped buy them the cars
which drove them to fancy restaurants–
restaurants which made me eat out of sight,
never within earshot/
just go play baseball and be gracious
they told him
be silent/whatever you do, please
just be silent
that was the deal in 1947…
/once denied access to manicured fields
and basic levels of dignity
now they put him on a pedestal
in the afternoon
and hid him from access
after dark/
eyes greeted him with resentment,
skepticism/with awe…
hypocricy embedded in the uniform
that covered his body,
still, he played–
/he would not be a ‘cool papa’ bell
or a josh gibson–
he would be…
JACKIE
you ever heard of martin dihigo?
he played baseball/once upon a time–
dihigo, was serviceable
and irrelevant
every time he entered
and exited
a negro league ballfield…
you ever heard of a guy named rube foster?
rube didn’t have a branch rickey
but he played for,
managed
and ran his own teams/
was rube foster the black christy mathewson?
no, he was the black rube foster
/and he made the baseball hall of fame
without ever playing a game of
organized
baseball/
before and after jackie,
you see
do you see?
jackie played,
he played–
jackie robinson
played aggressive-passive
baseball/
he could not react to insults
or injustices….
steal bases,
drive your opponents to distraction,
while putting your team first
and peace of mind
second…
that was the deal–
you should know these things
about jackie robinson/
pioneers make declarations–
they pass before their time,
and sometimes these men
wear a boys uniform
in a coward’s world
a world that reluctantly looked him in the eye
for the first time
on april 15th, 1947…
he was more than just
the first black man
to play
within self-righteous
white lines–
he had to absorb
hatred and loathing
as if breathing in air–
he had to endure and say nothing…
/for that was the deal
you ever walked up to a fountain
that said, ‘you can’t’
or
a bathroom that said,
‘don’t even think about it!
/his fate
decided by an institution which
ignored
and suppressed his kind for years
for it was in their
best interests
the best interests of baseball…
still, he played/jackie played
his interesting play was the foundation
for the future
and current
best interests of baseball/
suddenly
hank aaron was interesting
willie mays,
mccovey and stargell
were of interest as well/
bob gibson,
rod carew,
reggie jackson–
they were all…
interesting
do you think junior griffey
plays an interesting game of baseball?
/fifty years ago yesterday
he wouldn’t even garner
the interest of
the baseball encyclopedia
are you getting the point?
/jackie robinson was beyond interesting
he was mezmerizing,
captivating, he was
trailblazing…
/ten years he played in a league
which was organized,
therefore
recognized–
fifty years ago today,
they let him play,
for the first time/
i walked into work the other day
unobstructed,
i passed by
the cubicles of people who
greeted me with warmth
while other’s avoided eye contact
in a way they thought was sly/
i began to wonder
‘what if the people who avoided eye contact’
petitioned in an effort
to prevent me from getting my job…
what if they called me ‘nigger’
behind my back
as my talent
helped buy them the cars
which drove them to fancy restaurants–
restaurants which made me eat out of sight,
never within earshot/
just go play baseball and be gracious
they told him
be silent/whatever you do, please
just be silent
that was the deal in 1947…
/once denied access to manicured fields
and basic levels of dignity
now they put him on a pedestal
in the afternoon
and hid him from access
after dark/
eyes greeted him with resentment,
skepticism/with awe…
hypocricy embedded in the uniform
that covered his body,
still, he played–
/he would not be a ‘cool papa’ bell
or a josh gibson–
he would be…
JACKIE
you ever heard of martin dihigo?
he played baseball/once upon a time–
dihigo, was serviceable
and irrelevant
every time he entered
and exited
a negro league ballfield…
you ever heard of a guy named rube foster?
rube didn’t have a branch rickey
but he played for,
managed
and ran his own teams/
was rube foster the black christy mathewson?
no, he was the black rube foster
/and he made the baseball hall of fame
without ever playing a game of
organized
baseball/
before and after jackie,
you see
do you see?
jackie played,
he played–
jackie robinson
played aggressive-passive
baseball/
he could not react to insults
or injustices….
steal bases,
drive your opponents to distraction,
while putting your team first
and peace of mind
second…
that was the deal–
you should know these things
about jackie robinson/
pioneers make declarations–
they pass before their time,
and sometimes these men
wear a boys uniform
in a coward’s world
a world that reluctantly looked him in the eye
for the first time
on april 15th, 1947…
he was more than just
the first black man
to play
within self-righteous
white lines–
he had to absorb
hatred and loathing
as if breathing in air–
he had to endure and say nothing…
/for that was the deal
you ever walked up to a fountain
that said, ‘you can’t’
or
a bathroom that said,
‘don’t even think about it!
/his fate
decided by an institution which
ignored
and suppressed his kind for years
for it was in their
best interests
the best interests of baseball…
still, he played/jackie played
his interesting play was the foundation
for the future
and current
best interests of baseball/
suddenly
hank aaron was interesting
willie mays,
mccovey and stargell
were of interest as well/
bob gibson,
rod carew,
reggie jackson–
they were all…
interesting
do you think junior griffey
plays an interesting game of baseball?
/fifty years ago yesterday
he wouldn’t even garner
the interest of
the baseball encyclopedia
are you getting the point?
/jackie robinson was beyond interesting
he was mezmerizing,
captivating, he was
trailblazing…
/ten years he played in a league
which was organized,
therefore
recognized–
fifty years ago today,
they let him play,
for the first time/
Sean’s newest venture is near completion. A documentary entitled The United States of Football about Sean’s journey of the past two years researching the subject of player health and safety from the pee-wee’s to the pro’s.
“A father, who has trained his son all his life to play [...]
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