Teenage Jewish baseball player breaks down racial barriers in Chicago
Enamored with the opposing, predominately Black squad, his father decided to ask the U-16 coach to let his son try out for the team. The coach agreed.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFTHE DOWNTOWN skyscrapers of Chicago rise against the backdrop of Lake Michigan.(photo credit: REUTERS)
Coby Kamish, a 16-year-old Jewish baseball player from Skokie, Illinois, has been making headlines in the United States for breaking down religious and racial boundaries in the Chicago South Side.Coby recently lost his mother Sisi to cancer. She always wanted him to go to Fasman Yeshiva High School, according to Full Press Coverage.However, the yeshiva does not have a baseball squad, so Coby and his father David had to look elsewhere for him to play. According to NBC 5 Chicago, Sisi always loved watching Coby pitch, and his father pushed him to continue to pursue his passion.Considering that many school sport programs are shut due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic – and after attempting to establish a team at the yeshiva as well as play on another nearby Jewish school's team where he didn't receive much playing time – Coby and his father decided to take an unorthodox route to get some reps in.Once during a game, he was sitting on the bench against a top tier U-16 travel baseball team from the South Side of Chicago that hosts a roster of predominately Black players named "The Show." Enamored with the opposing squad, David decided to ask U-16 coach Daccarius Chapman to let his son try out for the team. The coach agreed."It doesn't happen often," Chapman told NBC 5 in reference to the request for a tryout from an opposing player. "He's got a real nice arm – electric. He knows what he's doing; he's real confident. That's the type of player I want on my team."Two days later he was on the team. The Show program director Ernie Radcliffe noted that while his path to the team was anything but ordinary, he welcomes him with open arms and hopes that this example of coexistence can also be an example to others worldwide."It's very strange – I've never heard that before," said Radcliffe. "For Coby to come over and play with us and everything, that is fantastic. It also opens the door to let everyone in the city of Chicago and around the world who might be watching this tonight know that Blacks and whites, Hispanics and all races can get along."
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