Chris Smith: “on this 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's major league debut, I am proud to say that I am and always have been a fan…”

“on this 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's major league debut, I am proud to say that I am and always have been a fan of Jackie Robinson. Not just for his athletic prowess, but for what I believe is his greatest achievement: his ability to keep his eye on the goal of playing baseball and doing his best in the face of the catcalls, the hissing, and the jeers. With all the societal pressures placed on him, Jackie Robinson breathed life to the idea of community and equality; and proved to his contemporaries that the only color that mattered to him was Dodger blue. But more importantly, he made sure he was judged not by the petty mans' standard of skin color, but by the higher standard of merit, performance, ability, tenacity, and perseverance. No doubt, Jackie Robinson had tough times and dreary days throughout his career. His gift to baseball and, indeed, to America, was his sensibility to see past the setbacks, the biases, the bigotry, and the prejudices directed at him and focus on the enormous task of playing baseball, well, and proving that shades of skin color do not make the player or the man.”