“The COVID-19 pandemic has made this baseball season one that is a risk I am not comfortable taking,” he wrote at the end of a lengthy post on Instagram that touched on race and opportunities for youth baseball players.
“With a pregnant wife and four young children who have lots of questions about what’s going on in the world, home is where I need to be right now,” Desmond wrote. “Home for my wife, Chelsey. Home to help. Home to guide. Home to answer my older three boys’ questions about Coronavirus and Civil Rights and life. Home to be their Dad.”
Colorado Rockies OF Ian Desmond shared a powerful message with the reasons behind him opting out of playing baseball this season. https://t.co/5IHfepNar6 pic.twitter.com/wE2lBVe40g
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 30, 2020
Rockies' Ian Desmond announces he's opting out of the the MLB season, citing the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to be with family
Desmond also addresses racism, sexism, homophobia in MLB, lack of diversity in the league and more in the lengthy Instagram post pic.twitter.com/7c4BLGpx4h
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 30, 2020
Ian Morgan Desmond (born September 20, 1985) is an American professional baseball infielder and outfielder for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Washington Nationals and Texas Rangers. Desmond is a three-time Silver Slugger Award winner and a two-time MLB All-Star. While primarily a shortstop early in his career, Desmond began playing primarily left field, center field, and first base starting in 2016.
