Former Royals outfielder Lorenzo Cain says police reform is needed
When former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick began kneeling during the national anthem in 2016, Lorenzo Cain took note.
Cain, who was playing for the Royals at the time, also saw how that protest against police brutality essentially ended Kaepernick’s career.
“We can sugarcoat it, but kneeling was basically ending people’s careers,” Cain said in a town hall discussion with other African American players. “For me that’s what it basically came out to. ...
“I think for a lot of athletes that were in that tough position, (they were) very unsure whether they should kneel or stand or whatever the case may be. I think that made it tough on everybody. But after the Kaepernick situation has passed by, now I feel like everybody fully understands what is happening, why he kneeled. I feel like from now on, we all should use our platform to push to do the right thing from here on out.”
Cain was joined in the discussion by Cleveland’s Delino Deshields Jr., Texas’ Taylor Hearn, Pittsburgh’s Josh Bell and Baltimore’s Dwight Smith Jr. and Mychal Givens. It was moderated by Negro Leagues Baseball Museum president Bob Kendrick.
It was aired on Siriux XM’s MLB Network Radio and shared on YouTube.
Like nearly everyone, Cain saw the video of George Floyd’s death while being detained by police.
“Watching the video it was just some kind of sad, disgusting. Especially seeing that and watching him just keep his knee on the guy’s neck, on George Floyd’s neck, he just not even let up at all, you know?” Cain said. “Disgusting and like I say, me growing up, in a situation where my mom worked in the fields, my grandma worked in the fields, and (my mom) always taught me to treat everyone like you would want to be treated. I’ve always stuck with that, and I’ve grown, teaching my kids that. I have three kids myself. George Floyd was somebody’s son, and I couldn’t even imagine if I saw my son with a cop with a knee on his neck, what I would do in that situation, how I would react. It hit me hard. It hit everybody hard.
“The reaction and the response I’ve been getting from everybody has been positive. All of my buddies have been texting me and letting me know that they are with me, and ‘try to stay positive.’ Hopefully things get better from this. It’s definitely shocking and tough to watch, and tough to try to explain to my kids and other people around me. ... I feel like there needs to be change. Things need to get better. As a whole, as a community, as a group, America hopefully can get better from this. Hopefully all this stops.”
Moving forward, Cain said educating kids on the need for civility is important.
Cain also believes police officers need to face consequences for their actions. And he hopes that officers will stand up to their colleagues when they are acting inappropriately.
“It starts with the kids. Just having that respect factor. Having respect for another person, teaching them to treat people the same,” Cain said.
“For me, the police in general, they just have too much power. I think if we stripped some of that power, if the government found a way to strip some of that power or take away the immunity that they basically have, because they literally can go trespass or harass people, and nothing is done. And you can see it in their faces that they’re not worried about any consequences. I think that’s the issue where if they start treating the police like anyone else, I think they will think twice about doing things.
“For me, arresting all of those officers and holding everyone accountable allows the good cops ... to maybe look at each other and say, ‘If I see something that another cop is doing wrong, then I need to step in and intervene because I could also be charged along with this bad cop that’s doing something he shouldn’t be doing.’ I think that’s where we need to start there and I don’t know if it could happen but find a way for cops to not have immunity or not hold so much power.”
Cain, who was the MVP of the 2014 American League Championship Series, reiterated the need to reach out to children. He hopes that better days are ahead.
“Hopefully we’re heading in that direction and like I said, peace,” Cain said. “Everybody just learn how to love each other, respect each other and teach your kids growing up what they need to do in order for all of us to survive.”
This story was originally published June 8, 2020 at 10:25 AM.
