Rays, Yankees unite with gun violence statement after Uvalde shooting – USA TODAY
The Tampa Bay Rays felt a “palpable” need to act after 19 students and 2 teachers were murdered in Texas. The Yankees agreed.
It happens every so often in the Tampa Bay Rays’ offices, when the thrum and grind of a 162-game season gets overtaken by external events too large to ignore, or too devastating to turn away.
As a sports franchise, the Rays are not explicitly tasked with landing on the right side of history, and they operate in an industry that prefers the milquetoast response to bold action in the face of controversy. Yet on multiple occasions, be it a nightclub slaying or marriage equality or a statue dedicated with reprehensible rhetoric, the Rays have chosen courage over capitulation.