We in Latino Sports are proud to announce that the Latino Sports Writers & Broadcasters Association (LSWBA) in conjunction with LSI (Latino Sports Initiative) and a host of prominent Latino personalities have agreed to begin a community campaign to collect signatures to urge Commissioner Bud Selig to do the right thing and retire #21. This campaign will be initiated in Pittsburg during the All Star festivities in order to create a national movement that will bring as many Clemente fans of all nationalities together and as a result have their opinion be known. The fact is that this should be a no-brainer. Baseball wants to expand world wide as the recent World Baseball Classic demonstrated. What better way to do this than to recognize a player that came from another country - Puerto Rico, who’s first language was not English and who was treated by many in the business as if he was an immigrant (even though Puerto Rican’s are US citizens at birth as a result of its colonial status with he US)? What better ambassador to this game than a player whose name has been heralded by more communities than any other player who has ever played. There are more public and private institutions named after Roberto Clemente than any other player and that is a fact. Clemente is not just respected here in this country, but in other countries as far as Germany and Japan. Yes, we have heard of some who have spoken against retiring Clemente’s number. In fact, we in Latino Sports were one of the first to host a debate in December of 2005 during our annual “21 Days of Clemente” exhibit and seminars on this very topic. Mr. Tony Paige, of WFAN radio, a well-respected African American participated in the debate and spoke against retiring Clemente’s number. One of our writers, Danny Torres spoke in favor. Mr. Paige’s point was that Jackie Robinson’s #42 should be the only number retired by Major League Baseball because breaking the color barrier was one of the single biggest events to occur in baseball. No one disagreed with Mr. Paige; on the contrary many agreed that if not for Mr. Robinson breaking the color barrier, perhaps it would have taken a bit longer for other players of color, like Clemente to have played in the majors. However, Paige agreed that if Clemente’s #21 was to be retired, he would not be against it at all. This is 2006 and today’s game is in need of other barriers to be broken. For instance, the barrier between the fans and the players is widening every year. Today’s game has gone the course of mega contracts where the majority of the players only contact with the fans is from behind the dugout wall, a police barricade, or paying a fee to get an autograph. For others there may be the barrier of not even watching their team on TV unless they are paying cable and even that may not work with the cost of premium TV. Ironically, there are less African-American players today than there has been at any other time since baseball was integrated. Today’s teams are more interested in searching for cheap talent in third world countries than developing the local talent here in our inner cities. Teams are willing to invest capital funds to build baseball academies in the Dominican Republic and elsewhere than invest funds in the very communities where they play. The fact is that today’s players are more distant from the fans than at any other point in baseball. Especially now, post 911 where everyone and everything is suspect to inspection. If this was not bad enough, the issue of steroids has given baseball another serious wound that will scar baseball for many years to come and has made more fans question the validity of many players and thus lose respect for others that were once “heroes.” Some could argue that today’s barriers come somewhat close to being as negative for the growth of the game as the color barrier was then. Today’s game is different from the game that Jackie Robinson played in. We respect the fact that Mr. Robinson’s number 42 is retired and acknowledge the tremendous abuse he endured on and off the field when he broke the color barrier. Retiring his number served its purpose and represents a particular time in baseball and the struggle against racism in this country. On the other hand, we should not allow anyone to make our call to retire #21 a competition for another player’s number to be retired based on purely on ethnicity. However, if we look at the face of baseball today we should be welcoming new ideas that would help us all overcome the negative and bring on the positive. What better way than to retire the number of a great baseball player who was known as a great humanitarian; one who can still command the respect of players: one to be emulated by others and one for children and fans of all ages to admire. We have heard about a few other organizations that have been collecting signatures for the same purpose. We congratulate them all and urge them to continue. However, we have not seen any movement that has garnered the support needed for this critical work. There is enthusiasm that we see and hear everyday in Latino communities and with fans across this country when you mention the name Roberto Clemente. We know this will be a very successful effort and we commend the LSWBA and LSI for taking the initiative to try and make this a real grass root community effort that can involve everyone from celebrities and dignitaries to the average José in the street that believes that #21 should be retired. Latino Sports Ventures, Inc. has agreed to support this issue and to lend our marketing experience to this great cause and help spread the message to as many communities as possible. Now it’s up to every Clemente fan and every Latino who believes that Roberto Clemente has given us so much to be proud of to step forward and help with this campaign to get his number 21 retired. Commissioner Selig, it’s time to do the right thing. Baseball needs this great humanitarian to once again step up to the plate. For additional information on how you can help, or get involved please contact Latino Sports @ 718-402-9310, or email us at Retire21@Latinosports.com