Adam Wainwright: Black Lives Matter to Me

At a future Busch Stadium home opener, Adam Wainwright will wear a red jacket on the field before the game. But before Friday’s home opener, he planned to wear something else of significance on the field: A “Black Lives Matter” T-Shirt.

“It’s genuine, it’s because those lives do matter to me,” said Wainwright, the great Cardinal righthander. “If somebody has something to say about an organization, that’s fine. That’s not why I’m wearing that shirt. I’m wearing that shirt because my teammates said it means a lot to them. Because I want to love them well, and their lives matter to me.”

And that’s what this is all about. It’s not about the scrutinized politics or origins of the Black Lives Matter organization. It’s about the words themselves. Black Lives Matter. Black Lives. Such as Fowler. And Willie McGee. And Wainwright’s adopted son.

“A lot of people will come to me and say the reason you’re the way you are is because you have a Black son now,” said Wainwright, whose teammates and manager wore “Black Lives Matter” T-shirts during pregame workouts Friday. “But I’m still the same amount of human as I was yesterday. And I still have the same love today for my fellow brother that I did yesterday. …

“I can’t offer any past experiences (of experiencing racial injustice). I’ve never dealt with some of the things that people are saying they dealt with. But what I can offer is empathy. And that’s what I’m going to try to do. I’m going to try to be the best friend and teammate I possibly can. And at the end of the day, if people get mad at me for being a good teammate, and a good friend, I’m OK with it.”

Read the rest of the story here: https://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/benjamin-hochman/hochman-with-co...