With just five days left to win 100,000 signatures on a White House petition, publisher Steve Forbes is stepping up his campaign to get New York Yankee great Yogi Berra the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
As Berra himself once said, “It’s getting late early out there.”
AP Photo
Forbes’ pitch:
“Yogi Berra served his country in the Navy during WWII, participating in the D-Day invasion. Berra has long been an advocate of diversity and tolerance in baseball and elsewhere. He’s also a great supporter of educational opportunities for young people. Back in 1959 he started a scholarship at Columbia University. His namesake museum focuses on education and character development.”
Berra, 90, played for and managed some of the best Yankee teams, is famous for his “Yogi-isms,” but he was also an advocate for others and Forbes wants that recognized.
The petition to the White House on the administration’s “We the People” site, for example, reads:
“Yogi Berra should be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. A man of unimpeachable integrity and respect, he befriended the first black and Latino baseball players in Major League Baseball. He is currently an ambassador for Athlete Ally, which promotes LGBT rights in sports. Berra enlisted in the U. S. Navy during World War Il and served during the D-Day invasion. He continues to be an avid supporter of our armed forces. Berra greatly values education. While with the Yankees, he created a scholarship at Columbia University that is still active 50 years later. His namesake Museum & Learning Center serves 20,000 students annually with character education programs and teaches the values of respect, sportsmanship and inclusion that Berra has demonstrated throughout his life and career.”
The petition has 39,338 signatures, short by 60,662 for the needed 100,000.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
