U.S. Rep Marc Veasey wrote a letter to the Texas Rangers and MLB commissioner, calling on them to remove a controversial statue from the stadium’s concourse.
ARLINGTON, Texas — Congressman Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, wrote a letter on Tuesday calling on the Texas Rangers and MLB to remove a controversial statue from Globe Life Field.
On March 2, the “One Riot, One Ranger” statue that once stood at Dallas Love Field airport became a permanent fixture at Globe Life Field, WFAA previously reported. The 12-foot-tall bronze figure is believed to depict Jay Banks, a Texas Ranger with the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Banks was a captain with the Texas Rangers in charge of a contingent dispatched to keep Black students from enrolling at Mansfield High School and at a community college in Texarkana, Doug J. Swanson, Pulitzer Prize finalist and longtime reporter for The Dallas Morning News, said in a book about the law enforcement agency.
That statue was removed from Dallas Love Field in 2020, amid renewed scrutiny of the man the statue depicts.
WFAA reached out to the Texas Rangers for comment but did not immediately hear back Thursday. The club did not respond to previous WFAA questions about the statue.
In a letter to Commissioner of Major League Baseball, Rob Manfred, and Texas Rangers Co-Chairmen Ray Davis and Bob Simpson, Veasey said the statue contradicts the inclusive values of baseball and the legacy of the sport’s pioneering leaders such as Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby.