https://www.theplayerstribune.com/articles/gary-sheffield-baseball-racism
George Floyd. Ahmaud Arbery. Breonna Taylor. Eric Garner. Stephon Clark. Philando Castile.
And that’s to name only a few.
Another name that, on more than one occasion, could’ve easily been added to that long list? Gary Sheffield.
The first time I experienced police brutality was in 1986, when I was 18. I was with my uncle Dwight Gooden — the Michael Jordan of baseball at the time — and some friends at a University of South Florida basketball game. As we were leaving in three separate cars, we were all pulled over without cause. The police detained my uncle — put him in cuffs and slammed him face-first to the ground.
At that moment, I didn’t see police officers — I saw men in uniform illegally harassing and assaulting my uncle. Instinctively, I ran over full-speed to confront them. There were five or six of them, and needless to say it didn’t go well.
In fact, I could’ve been killed.
They proceeded to beat all of us unmercifully — beat us with flashlights. Not satisfied, they then loaded us into their cars and took us to the dog track — which was deserted — where they proceeded to assault us again until we were black, blue and swollen. Only then did they arrest us. In the end, Dwight and I got probation. Nothing ever happened to the cops. Afterward, things got so uncomfortable for us in Tampa that we actually both had to move to St. Pete.