Yankees stay committed to diversity and inclusion amid MLB's quiet rollback of DEI
The New York Yankees will remain committed to pushing diversity and inclusion within the organization, despite national rollbacks of DEI, including in MLB, an official said Tuesday.
"We are continually working with the members of our Diversity and Inclusion Committee and are actively engaged with our neighbors and community partners," senior vice president of corporate and community relations Brian Smith told the New York Daily News on Jackie Robinson Day.
"Our dedication towards these efforts remains unchanged, and our Diversity and Inclusion Committee continues to do its work."
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The Yankees originally revealed the creation of a Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Committee in February 2021. The announcement of that committee said the initiative was in response to "recent, senseless tragedies in communities throughout our nation," less than a year after the death of George Floyd while in police custody.
MLB removed "diversity" references from its careers page back in March. However, the careers page still includes a reference to inclusion and images of gay pride flags.
President Donald Trump has made rolling back DEI in the public and private sector an early priority of his term. One of Trump's day one executive orders commanded the Office of Federal Contract Compliance to "immediately cease" promoting "diversity" and any encouragement of federal contractors and subcontractors to engage in affirmative action-like efforts that consider race, color, sex, sexual preference, religion or national origin when making hiring decisions.
The General Services Administration (GSA) announced changes in February to the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) meant to align with the president's executive order aimed at restoring meritocracy and ending discrimination in the public and private sectors.
However, the Yankees believe their commitment to diversity and inclusion aligns with Trump's values on the issue.
"Our commitment remains consistent. We have been committed to driving access in our neighboring communities, and we remain committed to driving access in our neighboring communities," Smith said.
"We think President Trump would be pleased with our work because it creates the exact kind of opportunities that he focused on when he created an Opportunities Zone in the South Bronx in his first term."
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred launched a Diversity Pipeline Program in 2016, which resulted in over 400 assisted hires.
In October 2023, a federal civil rights complaint was filed against MLB for racially discriminatory programs by the nonprofit conservative public interest organization America First Legal, alongside the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The complaint claimed MLB’s official website presents at least four unlawful employment and contracting programs, citing the MLB Diversity Pipeline Program, the Diversity Fellowship Program, the Diversity in Ticket Sales Training Program and the Diverse Business Partners Program.
After an owners meeting in Palm Beach, Florida, last month, Manfred announced MLB was evaluating the interpretation of federal law.
"Our values, particularly our values on diversity, remain unchanged. But another value that is pretty important to us is we always try to comply with what the law is," Manfred said. "There seems to be an evolution going on here. We’re following that very carefully.
"Obviously, when things get a little more settled, we’ll examine each of our programs and make sure that while the values remain the same that we’re also consistent with what the law requires."
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