There was an uproar on Monday over Little League World Series players putting cotton on a teammate’s head and one sportscaster wants to explain why it’s an issue.
Did anyone else just see this on the Little League World Series?! They was stuffing the black boy hair with cotton!!! #LLWS pic.twitter.com/nRVJpw6FJj
— Smitty (@BullCityHeel) August 22, 2022
On Monday night, TV sportscaster Darren Haynes of WUSA 9 TV spoke about the history of slavery and cotton and how it relates to the kid’s putting cotton on their teammate’s head.
“If you’re confused as to why this is offensive to some people, well part of America’s past was slavery.. White people used to own slaves, black people were slaves and cotton was a huge product that generated wealth in this country but it came off the backs of enslaved Africans who worked grueling hours and in conditions and situations you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy, so to see this black player covered in cotton by his white teammates, perhaps you can see why this is upsetting.”
White players putting cotton on a black teammates head sparks outrage on social media
Here’s my take:@wusa9 pic.twitter.com/3Mcca810fn
— Darren M. Haynes (@DarrenMHaynes) August 23, 2022
Haynes says the kids weren’t deliberately trying to be racist but just didn’t know what they were doing was racist.
“I believe the kids weren’t trying to be racist, they just didn’t know what they were doing was racist.
Let this serve as a reminder that education is the best tool for tackling racism and discrimination. “