LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers on Tuesday joined the 10 other professional sports organizations in greater Los Angeles to announce the launch of The ALLIANCE: Los Angeles, a comprehensive five-year commitment to drive investment and impact for social justice through sport.
In the wake of nationwide protests to address racial injustice and support issues facing communities of color, MLB’s Dodgers and Angels joined the NFL’s Rams and Chargers, the NBA’s Lakers and Clippers, the NHL’s Kings and Ducks, MLS’s LAFC and Galaxy and the WNBA’s Sparks to form The ALLIANCE: Los Angeles.
“It’s great to see us collaborate as one for the greater good,” said manager Dave Roberts, who was joined in the announcement by Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten. “When I was young, it took people to invest in me. With this five-year commitment, I’m hopeful this spurs a movement.”
The ALLIANCE: Los Angeles is partnering with public charity Play Equity Fund, a division of LA 84 Foundation, which will manage the initiative.
“The Los Angeles region is one of the world’s most competitive markets, and sports is one of the world’s most competitive industries,” said Renata Simril, president and CEO of Play Equity Fund. “But these organizations are putting their competitive instincts aside to work collaboratively for social justice.”
Tom Penn, president and owner of LAFC, said The ALLIANCE: Los Angeles was an outgrowth of a collaboration of teams in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. On the Sunday after protests erupted in Los Angeles following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, team leaders “united as one, asking the question: What can we do?” Penn said. “We had done a video about COVID, and we picked it up from there.”
The stated goal of The ALLIANCE: Los Angeles is to drive lasting social change in underserved communities, with an emphasis on Black communities. According to The ALLIANCE: Los Angeles, the term social justice can be broadly defined as the degree of fairness or justice in the opportunities and access to resources, wealth, political representation, and privileges within a given society. In neighborhoods with high poverty rates, opportunities to play – a globally recognized fundamental human right of childhood – oftentimes do not exist, particularly for kids of color.
Roberts and Rams coach Sean McVay said their players are eager to make a difference.
“With what’s happened in our country, players are asking a lot of hard, crucial, intelligent questions of what they can do,” Roberts said. “For us to have a platform, we preach being a servant to others. It’s a responsibility they understand.”
“It’s a consistent theme with us, and I was actually talking to [Clippers coach] Doc Rivers a few weeks back, with the pandemic and everything going on, and he said the best thing about being in the still and present is you’re able to connect with your players,” said McVay. “We’ve been able to open up lines of communication that maybe didn’t exist before. What’s so powerful about sports is you eliminate the prejudice and stereotypes that unfortunately exist in our society. You can preach a better sermon with your life than your lips. This epitomizes that.”
Tim Harris, COO of the Lakers, said Tuesday’s announcement is only the beginning.
“This is just so we’re held accountable,” he said. “The onus is on the 11 teams to do the right thing, over and over, so in five years I hope we can look back and say, ‘We had some wins, now let’s do this for another five years.’”
The ALLIANCE: Los Angeles and the Play Equity Fund will hold a Sports for Social Justice Symposium on July 22, to coincide with National Youth Sports Week, which is July 20-24. This webinar will include leaders from the sports organizations, as well as social justice leaders and sports commentators.