Gary Sheffield和警察暴力 - 美國職棒

文章連結：https://reurl.cc/qd2nYg

原標題：Do You Believe Me Now?

作者：Gary Sheffield


George Floyd. Ahmaud Arbery. Breonna Taylor. Eric Garner. Stephon Clark.
Philando Castile.

And that’s to name only a few.

Another name that, on more than one occasion, could’ve easily been added to
that long list? Gary Sheffield.

George Floyd、Ahmaud Arbery、Breonna Taylor、Eric Garner、Stephon Clark、
Philando Castile，而這只是其中一小部分。

另一個名字，不只一次，可能輕易地被加進這個名單中：Gary Sheffield。

The first time I experienced police brutality was in 1986, when I was 18. I
was with my uncle Dwight Gooden — the Michael Jordan of baseball at the time
— and some friends at a University of South Florida basketball game. As we
were leaving in three separate cars, we were all pulled over without cause.
The police detained my uncle — put him in cuffs and slammed him face-first
to the ground.

At that moment, I didn’t see police officers — I saw men in uniform
illegally harassing and assaulting my uncle. Instinctively, I ran over
full-speed to confront them. There were five or six of them, and needless to
say it didn’t go well.

In fact, I could’ve been killed.

我第一次體驗到警察暴力是在1986年，當時我18歲。我和我的舅舅Dwight Gooden，他是當
時棒球界的Michael Jordan，以及一些朋友去看南佛羅里達大學的籃球比賽。當我們分乘
三輛車離開時，突然無緣無故被攔了下來。警察拘留了我的舅舅，將他上銬並且臉朝下重
摔在地上。

那一刻，我看到的不是警察，我看到的是一群穿著制服的人非法地騷擾並且攻擊我的舅舅
。我下意識地全速衝向他們。對方總共有五或六個人，當然，事情的進展不是很順利。

事實上，我差點被殺掉。

They proceeded to beat all of us unmercifully — beat us with flashlights.
Not satisfied, they then loaded us into their cars and took us to the dog
track — which was deserted — where they proceeded to assault us again until
we were black, blue and swollen. Only then did they arrest us. In the end,
Dwight and I got probation. Nothing ever happened to the cops. Afterward,
things got so uncomfortable for us in Tampa that we actually both had to move
to St. Pete.

警察繼續毫不留情地用手電筒痛扁我們。不滿足於此，他們把我們塞進車子裡面並且將
我們帶到一座廢棄的賽狗場，在那裡繼續攻擊我們直到遍體鱗傷，他們才正式逮捕我們。
最後，Dwight和我被判緩刑，而那些警察什麼事也沒有。自此之後，我們在坦帕的生活變
得非常難受，不得不搬到聖彼得堡。

More recently, in 2015, I was driving my white Rolls-Royce down from Tampa to
Miami for a charity golf tournament along with my friends, Winky Wright and
Steve Monroe. Smoking a cigar, I waved at a police officer as we passed his
car on the highway — and he subsequently pulled us over.

The officer recognized me, told me that he was a fan and soon disappeared.
But in his place appeared five additional police cars and a K-9 unit.

They searched everything.

2015年，我開著我的白色勞斯萊斯從坦帕前往邁阿密，準備和我的朋友Winky Wright、
Steve Monroe一起參加慈善高爾夫球賽。當我們在高速公路上超過一輛警車時，我抽著
雪茄，向警察揮了揮手，而他隨即把我們攔下來。

那位警察認出了我，告訴我說他是我的粉絲後很快便消失了。但隨後來了另外五個警察和
一隻警犬。

他們搜查了所有東西。

Al of our belongings were scattered along the highway as they illegally
searched my car — so I began to film them. At that point I was told I couldn
’t film anything because it was a “criminal investigation.”

Agitated, an officer grabbed my arm, and we stood eye to eye. I told the
officer, “I’m gonna count to three, and you better take your hands off of
me.” He did, and then he told us we were free to go.

Again, I could’ve been killed.

他們非法地搜查我的車，導致所有的東西散落在高速公路上，於是我開始拍他們。當時我
被告知不能拍攝任何東西，因為這是一項「刑事調查」。

其中一個警察激動地抓住我的手臂，我們就這樣怒目相對。我告訴他，「我現在數到三，
你最好拿開你的手。」他照做了，然後告訴我們可以離開了。

又一次，我差點被殺掉。

The unfortunate reality is that my stories aren’t unique. They’re not
special or extraordinary, and neither am I. What happened to George Floyd
could have easily — and far too often — happened to me or others.

What has made George Floyd’s death a defining moment in this country — what
distinguishes it from countless others who were murdered and remain anonymous
— was that this otherwise desensitized country actually saw it happen.

We saw a man take his last breath — we collectively bore witness to a
modern-day lynching.

不幸的是我的故事並非獨一無二。它們並非特別的，我也一樣。那些發生在George Floyd
身上的事可能會輕易且經常地發生在我和其他人身上。

這個原本麻木不仁的國家確實目睹了George Floyd的死，這讓它與其他無數遭到謀殺，
關注度卻不高的事件有所區隔，成為了這個國家的轉折點。

我們看到這個人嚥下了他最後一口氣，共同見證了現代的私刑。

In my 22 years as a professional athlete, I have been labeled “outspoken”
and “controversial.” And while it hasn’t been easy, I have worn each of
those labels as a badge of honor. I wasn’t afraid to call out racial bias
when I saw it, even when nobody backed me up.

So I ask you: Now do you believe me?

Because I stood alone then. But we stand together now – and that’s why I’m
sharing my stories.

在職業生涯的22年中，我一直被貼上「心直口快」和「起爭議」的標籤。雖然這並不容易
，但我將每一個標籤都視為榮譽的勳章。當看到種族偏見時，我不怕出來大聲批評，即便
沒有任何人挺我。

於是我問你，現在，你相信我了嗎？

因為當時我獨自一人，但現在我們站在一起，而這就是為什麼我要分享我的故事。

For black people, these injustices are nothing new. But for white people,
people of privilege, this is revelatory. Their eyes have been forced open to
view life through the same harsh lens as a person of color.

This is our time — our time to do God’s work. It isn’t the time to let up.
It isn’t the time for superficial comments and empty statements. This is our
moment to turn tragedy into triumph. It is our opportunity to put a stop to
years of systemic racism, oppression and discrimination.

It ends now. And it ends with us. All of us.

對於黑人來說，這些不公不義持續已久。但是對於白人，那些擁有特權的人，這是具有
啟發性的。他們被迫睜開雙眼，以有色人種艱苦的的視角看待生活的一切。

該是我們去執行上帝的工作的時候了。現在還不能鬆懈、還不是發表那些膚淺和空洞言論
的時候。這是我們化悲劇為勝利之時。這是我們終止常年來全面性的種族主義、壓迫和
歧視的機會。

現在就結束它，並且和我們一起，全部人一起。

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