MLB Player Talks League Racism, Playing By White America’s ‘Rules’ In Post Announcing Departure

Colorado Rockies outfielder Ian Desmond announced Monday that he will be opting out of the league this year in a lengthy Instagram post that references George Floyd and decries racism in the MLB and his struggles as a mixed-race American.

“The image of Derek Chauvin’s knee on the neck of George Floyd, the gruesome murder of a Black man in the streets at the hands of a police officer, broke my coping mechanism,” Desmond posted via Instagram on Monday. “Suppressing my feelings became impossible.”