Curt Flood: Aroldis Chapman's Fight For Free Agency

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Recommended: Black athletic icons and their social justice actions

Curt Flood fought for free agency because he didn't want to be traded to the Philadelphia Phillies. He went to court for it. He changed baseball by going to court for free agency. It modern day Aroldis Chapman was a free agent and singed with the New York Yankees. Aroldis Chapman is getting paid 11.32 million. This is how far and still going Curt Flood's fight for free angecy is so important. Most black baseball stars—Willie Mays, Henry Aaron, Ernie Banks—were all but invisible during the Civil Rights movement, so Flood's activism was years ahead of its time. When it came time for him to take a stand on being traded to Philadelphia, he was ready. "I do not regard myself as a piece of property to be bought or sold," he famously told Commissioner

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