“GIVE IT UP”
Margo Hinton joins the Urban Media Today sports weekend lineup with her insight on sports from a woman’s’ perspective. The High School and College Hall of Fame former basketball star touch on the importance of self-discipline, always challenging yourself and the support of the community in 30 minutes loaded with insight and fun…..
This Weeks Guest: Larry Harris
This Weeks Topic: Free Agency
Give It Up Podcast Notes
Curt Flood letter to Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn
December 24, 1969
After twelve years in the major leagues, I do not feel I am a piece of property to be bought and sold irrespective of my wishes. I believe that any system which produces that result violates my basic rights as a citizen and is inconsistent with the laws of the United States.
It is my desire to play baseball in 1970, and I am capable of playing. I have received a contract offer from the Philadelphia club, but I believe I have the right to consider offers from other clubs before making any decision. I, therefore, request that you make known to all Major League clubs my feelings in this matter, and advise them of my availability for the 1970 season.
Let’s think about the time that this black man was making this statement. A year after the assassination of Martin Luther King. Tommie Smith and John Carlos raise their fist on the podium at the Summer Olympics and Muhammad Ali was exiled from boxing because of his stance on the Vietnam war…At the same time, Flood told the players union… “I think the change in black consciousness in recent years has made me more sensitive to injustice in every area of my life.” This brother was a trailblazer. He ended up filing a lawsuit with the backing of the player’s union. He lost the lawsuit, but paved the way for others like Catfish Hunter who played for the Yankees and eventually the Seitz decision removed the reserve clause and free agency began.
