ST. LOUIS — St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jack Flaherty talked to local media members for nearly a half hour on Thursday.
But the conversation wasn't about baseball. It was about recent protests and postponements around sports in light of the recent police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin, and a broader call for the end of racial injustice.
Protests began Wednesday with the Milwaukee Bucks deciding not to play their playoff game against the Orlando Magic. It continued with the postponement of all NBA games Wednesday, and the rest of the week. The WNBA followed suit, and some MLB clubs and individual players also opted not to play. The NHL later joined in with games being postponed on Thursday and Friday.
The Cardinals decided to play on Wednesday night and in both of their games on Thursday.
However, Flaherty and outfielder Dexter Fowler, the only two Black players on the Cardinals roster, decided to sit out. Fowler was slated to be in the lineup on Wednesday. Flaherty was not scheduled to pitch.
Flaherty said the decision whether or not to play was made in a very short window, and that he supports his teammates who did play.
"I told the guys, 'Hey. We've got 20 minutes to game time. I don't expect a decision to be played'. And I love that they went out and played and won the game. Because that's what we wanted. We wanted them to go out and play and win," Flaherty said.
The protests, which began in the NBA had Flaherty on the phone with players in basketball and baseball, trying to find the words to use to explain why it was important to sit out.
"We're just frustrated. And we're just sick and tired of there being conversation, but nothing going on. Nothing happening. No changes being made. And it started with the Bucks... It was just to bring light to the situation and force people to ask the question, 'Well, why are they sitting out?' And then you look into why and you see why and you see the causes it's supporting. To bring light to the situation that happened in Wisconsin. To bring light to the racial and social injustices that continue to go on and have happened," Flaherty said.
"People say, 'Sports is supposed to be a distraction. We want a distraction from the situation.' And that's part of the problem. People don't want to face reality of the situation that's going on. And by the NBA not playing yesterday you had to listen. You had to listen to, 'Well, why?'."
But Flaherty said he's tired of speaking out. He wants action, and he admitted there have been times where he's felt like he missed opportunities to make change, including in St. Louis.
"I've missed on a lot of those opportunities. And it hurts and it sucks especially with things continuing to go on," Flaherty said. "I've missed on those opportunities and I truly don't want to miss on any of those opportunities going forward to try and make change."
And speaking of change, the Cardinals and Flaherty could be on the way to making an impact. Flaherty said the team is looking at possibly making Busch Stadium a polling place for upcoming elections, to help people use their voice at the ballot box.
You can watch Flaherty's full interview by clicking here.