Baseball legend Hank Aaron says President Obama “has his foot stuck in the mud” as a result of how Republicans treat him.
“We can talk about baseball. Talk about politics. Sure, this country has a black president, but when you look at a black president, President Obama is left with his foot stuck in the mud from all of the Republicans with the way he’s treated,” Aaron said in an interview published Tuesday in USA Today.
It marked the 40th anniversary of Aaron’s 715th home run, which led him past Babe Ruth as an all-time home run champion.
{mosads}Aaron referred to letters he’s kept from decades ago that contained racial slurs against him.
The letters, he said, remind him of the progress the United States has made in pursuing racial equality, but he added, “we have so far to go.”
“We have moved in the right direction, and there have been improvements, but we still have a long ways to go in the country,” Aaron added.
“The bigger difference is that, back then, they had hoods. Now, they have neckties and starched shirts.”
Aaron played in the majors as a right fielder for the Milwaukee Braves and Milwaukee Brewers as well as the Atlanta Braves. In the 1980s, he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002.