Jesse Jackson Threatens a Boycott to Get Minorities Into Management

Jesse Jackson said Wednesday he is forming a multiethnic coalition that will launch a boycott of baseball stadiums across the country beginning on opening day unless club owners adopt specific hiring plans to integrate the game’s management.

Spurred by racist comments attributed to Cincinnati Red owner Marge Schott, Jackson said his new “Rainbow Coalition on Fairness in Sports” also will urge President-elect Bill Clinton to refuse to throw out the first pitch on opening day next year.

“This is deeper, broader than Marge Schott,” Jackson said at a news conference at West Angeles Church of God in Los Angeles with about 20 local black ministers, politicians and others. “She should be reprimanded, but not used as a scapegoat for (the other owners’) sins. . . . If a team puts forth a plan and shows a goal, target and timetable, we will work with them.”

Jackson said owners could send a strong message if they named a minority to the vacant baseball commissioner’s post--but only if they did not strip the position of its authority.

While unclear on details, Jackson said such action would extend to other professional sports if their owners did not diversify their management staffs.

Jackson urged local Jews to join his effort in a speech before the American Jewish Congress in Beverly Hills. He was also supported by Casey Kasem, the radio broadcaster who is active in Arab-American causes, and John Saito, a board member of the Japanese American Citizens League.

“People of color are the ones who make organized sports successful,” Assemblywoman Marguerite Archie-Hudson, D-Los Angeles, said. “It’s time for us to say if we’re going to be the stars . . . we’re going to run the operation too.”