Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholars Visit Major League Baseball Players Association

A Visit to the MLBPA
By MELISSA BELLERJEAU

On Wednesday, June 7, 2017, I had the pleasure of visiting the Major League Baseball Players Association's headquarters in midtown Manhattan at the invitation of Melissa Persaud, Director of the Major League Baseball Players Trust, which is a sponsor of the Jackie Robinson Foundation where I am an intern this summer. I was joined by: my fellow JRF Scholar interns Justin Mollison, a student at Vanderbilt University studying Biomedical Engineering, and Madison Johnson, a student at the University of Pennsylvania studying political science, as well as JRF President Della Britton and Director of Programs Damian Travier. During our visit, we were asked questions about ourselves and the Foundation. The visit was special to me as a JRF Scholar because our sponsors do so much for us and we don't often get to thank them in-person or learn much about them. But on Wednesday, we had the opportunity to get to know the history of the MLBPA and establish personal connections that I believe will last for years to come. I know that if Jackie Robinson were here today, he would be pleased by the charitable work the MLBPA is doing worldwide and of the relationship between the MLBPA and JRF. In his words, “A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.”

We were very fortunate to meet MLBPA Executive Director Tony Clark, the first former baseball player and the first African-American to hold that position; Judy Pace Flood, the famed actress and widow of Curt Flood, both an iconic player and crucial figure in labor rights for MLB players; Omar Minaya, the first Hispanic general manager in MLB, and Chris Young, a Red Sox outfielder. Young noted how inspired he was by meeting us JRF Scholars. This struck me – because I was so inspired by him and the other people we met during our visit to the Players Association offices. There I sat with people whose calling is representing players' interests within the professional sport of baseball, which I imagined to be all-consuming, and I found them to be equally as devoted to service, caring for others, and inspiring the next generation of leaders, including my fellow Jackie Robinson Foundation scholars and me.

Continue reading at MLBPlayers.com.