{"id":629785,"date":"2026-03-18T10:35:49","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T10:35:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/629785\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T10:35:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T10:35:49","slug":"marc-veasey-calls-on-rangers-to-remove-controversial-statue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/629785\/","title":{"rendered":"Marc Veasey calls on Rangers to remove controversial statue"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fort Worth U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey called on the Texas Rangers to remove the \u201cOne Riot, One Ranger\u201d statue, joining the Arlington branch of the NAACP in expressing<\/a> his discontent with the addition at Globe Life Field.<\/p>\n

The 12-foot bronze sculpture was modeled after Jay Banks, a member of the Texas Rangers law enforcement agency who, on the orders of then-Gov. Allan Shivers, helped stop Mansfield High School from integrating in 1956 despite a court order.<\/p>\n

The statue had been displayed at Love Field since the 1960s but was taken down in 2020<\/a>. The Rangers baseball team recently unveiled the statue at its ballpark.<\/p>\n

In a letter posted on his website<\/a>, Veasey, a Democrat, addressed MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred and Rangers co-owners Ray Davis and Bob Simpson.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo place a monument honoring someone associated with resisting civil rights at a Major League ballpark dishonors that legacy,\u201d Veasey wrote. \u201cIt sends a chilling message about which parts of history are being elevated and which sacrifices are being forgotten. Ballparks should be places where families gather, where children fall in love with the game, and where fans of every race, faith, and background feel welcome. Honoring a figure tied to resisting school integration \u2014 and doing so with imagery that evokes racist violence \u2014 sends exactly the wrong message about who belongs in that space.\u201d<\/p>\n

He posed five questions in the letter:<\/p>\n

1. Was MLB aware that the statue honors an individual connected to efforts to block the integration of Mansfield High School in 1956?<\/p>\n

2. Did MLB review or approve the installation of this statue before it was placed at the Texas Rangers\u2019 stadium?<\/p>\n

3. How does MLB reconcile honoring a figure associated with resisting school integration with the league\u2019s public commitments to inclusion?<\/p>\n

4. What standards or guidelines do MLB maintain governing statues, monuments, or commemorative displays at its ballparks?<\/p>\n

5. Does MLB believe that honoring individuals connected to efforts to block school integration reflects the values the league wishes to project to fans and communities today?<\/p>\n

The Star-Telegram reach out to the Rangers for comment, and the team referred back to two statements when the statue was unveiled at Globe Life Field.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have worn the Rangers name since 1972 with pride,\u201d Davis said.<\/p>\n

Russell S. Molina, chairman of the law enforcement agency\u2019s Texas Rangers Bicentennial 2023 and board member of the Texas Ranger Association Foundation, said:<\/p>\n

\u201cThis statue represents all Texas Rangers, not any single individual,\u201d Molina said. \u201cThe modern Texas Ranger reflects the diversity, integrity and professionalism expected of one of the nation\u2019s oldest and most respected law enforcement organizations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Veasey ended his letter by asking the league to think of pioneers like Jackie Robinson and why it honors them.<\/p>\n

\u201cI urge the league to correct this mistake immediately,\u201d Veasey said. \u201cThe statue should be removed, and Major League Baseball should ensure that the symbols displayed at its stadiums honor the progress made possible by pioneers like Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby \u2014 not the forces that tried to stop them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related Stories from Fort Worth Star-Telegram<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Lawrence Dow<\/a><\/p>\n

Fort Worth Star-Telegram<\/p>\n

Lawrence Dow is a digital sports reporter from Philadelphia. He graduated with a master\u2019s degree in journalism from USC. He\u2019s passionate about movies and is always looking for a great book. He covers the Texas Rangers and other sports.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fort Worth U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey called on the Texas Rangers to remove the \u201cOne Riot, One Ranger\u201d…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":629786,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2393],"tags":[5,47964,10546,79969,4,80777,149,1567,69,3240],"class_list":["post-629785","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas-rangers","tag-baseball","tag-fort-worth","tag-globe-life-field","tag-marc-veasey","tag-mlb","tag-one-riot-one-ranger","tag-rangers","tag-texas","tag-texas-rangers","tag-texasrangers"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116249741489573666","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629785","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=629785"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629785\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/629786"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=629785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=629785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=629785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}