Theo Epstein says Cubs, MLB must ‘set better standards’ for championing diversity

Cubs president Theo Epstein began a conference call with reporters Monday by offering his condolences to the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and the “countless victims who keep losing their lives to racist violence in this country year after year, decade after decade, century after century.”

“I join my colleagues at the Cubs in standing up in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and the protestors who are doing their best to make this a real inflection point in our history. At this moment in time, silence is complicity. It’s important that all our voices are heard.”

Epstein — making his first public comments since the Cubs were in spring training — added his voice to an earlier Cubs statement “condemn[ing] racism in all its forms and decry[ing] violence against members of the Black community.”

Epstein also spoke on the topics of African American participation in baseball, MLB’s record of hiring African Americans to managerial and front-office positions and whether big-league clubhouses are welcoming enough places for players of all backgrounds.

“We can all ask ourselves, ‘What can we do to be better?’ ” he said.

The Cubs are looking into creating what Epstein called a “diversity committee,” the goal of which would be to “make sure we set better standards for ourselves and hold ourselves accountable and be better on this issue.”

As Epstein acknowledged, most of the people he has hired over the years have “looked like me, had backgrounds like me.”

“The system doesn’t fix itself,” he said. “You have to stand up and take some action.”