Denzel Washington Honors Jackie Robinson At MLB All-Star Game

Denzel Washington made a surprise appearance at the MLB’s All-Star game in Dodger’s Stadium on Tuesday night to honor the late Jackie Robinson, who ended racial segregation in baseball when he began playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. Washington donned Robinson’s “42” jersey and gave an impassioned speech.

“Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, 1947,” Washington said, setting the scene. “When Jackie Robinson stepped onto a major league baseball field for the first time. Armed with supreme talent and unshakeable character, and wearing a Dodger’s uniform. He changed the game of baseball and so much more.”

Washington spoke highly of the legendary player’s excellence on the field, and his work as an activist off the field. “He said that life is not a spectator sport, and he lived that motto to the fullest … Number 42 blazed a trail that would light the way for people from every walk of life and every color,” he said.