A special report from USA Today took a look today at a beloved former St. Louis Cardinals player and his reactions in the aftermath of the Ferguson, Mo. shooting that resulted in the death of unarmed African-American teenager Michael Brown (pictured).
Ted Simmons told USA Today about the racial segregation he experienced in the late ‘60s when he joined the St. Louis Cardinals as a teenager. He related how African-American teammates Bob Gibson and Bill White couldn’t find an upscale home in suburban St. Louis, instead having to settle for a local hotel during the season. Simmons also described how black motorists were disproportionately flagged down by police in the nearby Clayton and Ladue areas.
“This has been tough on everyone,” said Simmons, now a senior advisor for the Seattle Mariners and a resident of the St. Louis area for close to 45 years. “You live here, and people think that things like this only happen across the river in Illinois. Well, this is the still the South, and things happen that shouldn’t.” Simmons grew up in Ann Arbor, Mich., where he didn’t experience the same level of segregation he would eventually encounter upon starting his professional baseball career.
Offering his own insights into the Michael Brown case, Simmons said he would rather not make any “political” judgment on the case until investigations are completed, but identifies with “peaceful demonstrators” who would rather express their feelings while on the sidelines. “It’s like everything is fine as long as you’re quiet, but please, don’t band together and get political,” he concluded. “Things have gotten better in some respects. But a lot of things haven’t changed so much.”