Wealth & Money Quote by Curt Flood

The cruelty here isn’t just the racism; it’s the bureaucratic calmness with which racism is delivered. Flood recounts discrimination as a matter-of-fact “policy insight,” not a slur in the stands. The general manager’s rationale turns white supremacy into payroll math: whiteness framed as a higher “cost of living,” Blackness treated as naturally cheaper, as if dignity and necessity can be prorated by skin tone. It’s an old American trick - translating domination into administration so it sounds reasonable enough to pass in a meeting.

Flood’s phrasing does two jobs at once. “I was told” spotlights power: the decision arrives from above, unappealable, like a weather report. Then the manager’s explanation is quoted almost deadpan, letting its absurdity convict itself. The line “That is why I wasn’t going to get a raise” lands like a slammed drawer: final, clipped, infuriating. It’s the language of someone describing not just insult, but the system that expects you to swallow it.

Context sharpens the blade. Flood played in an era when players were bound by baseball’s reserve clause, controlled by owners who treated athletes as assets. His later challenge to that system (at real personal cost) wasn’t only about contract freedom; it was about refusing the premise that management gets to assign your value - and your humanity - by category. This quote captures the seed of that revolt: a player hearing the quiet part said out loud and deciding it can’t stand.