California corrections budget benefits more than inmates from prison sports expansion

I still remember the first time I ran a marathon while incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison.

After 13 miles of running in a circle, doubt crept into my mind on that day in November 2017. But I kept going. The last five miles was like trudging through six feet of snow. Without my training, discipline and focus, I would not have crossed that finish line.

The sport of marathon running taught me how to be a responsible person. It not only reshaped my body, but reshaped how I saw myself. I went from running marathons to completing college degrees and participating in self-help groups. 

San Quentin has excellent sports programs, but I don’t believe that organized sports should expand in California prisons.

Assembly Bill 2204, authored by assemblymembers Jesse Gabriel and Isaac Bryan, two Los Angeles-area Democrats, will allow the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to recognize organized sports as rehabilitation. It would allow CDCR to solicit proposals, negotiate and enter contracts with professional sports teams, colleges and private donors to create a treasury fund for sports in prison. CDCR will also be able to keep 5% of the money collected for administrative costs.

To my knowledge, no one consulted the incarcerated population before creating this proposal. According to Democracy Beyond Bars, an incarcerated group focused on public policy, “this (bill) can quickly and quietly turn into millions more dollars falling into CDCR’s already inflated budget.” Currently, CDCR spends only 5% of its annual $14.2 billion budget on rehabilitation.

CDCR has previously diverted millions of dollars from the inmate welfare fund, a self-funded piggy bank to benefit incarcerated individuals’ recreational activities, to pay for hundreds of employee positions. For almost two years, nighttime access to the yards have been restricted, preventing the San Quentin Giants from holding baseball practice.

According to the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office, California’s prison system needs an estimated $11 billion for infrastructure fixes at more than two dozen prisons. Some, like the California Rehabilitation Center and Soledad Correctional Training Facility, would be cheaper to close. In fact, legislative analysts have recommended closing the CTF, and the CRC in Norco is expected to shut down this year. Organized sports would be dangerous at Calipatria, Centinela and Ironwood state prisons, which are located in deserts that regularly reach 120 degrees in the summer.

CDCR doesn’t have sufficient cooling systems to accommodate summer sports.

AB 2204 would help make participating athletes eligible for earlier releases. But roughly 1 in 5 incarcerated individuals are age 55 or older. Thousands have disabilities. Neither group would likely earn credits by playing sports.

More than 5,000 people are serving life sentences without parole, and athletes serving time for serious crimes will likely face legal challenges against earning early release credits. CDCR is already being sued by the Criminal Justice League Foundation for extending Proposition 57 credits to violent offenders serving indeterminate sentences. 

Instead of inflating CDCR’s budget to organize ballgames, we should prioritize getting incarcerated individuals back to their communities. This agency has demonstrated its priorities by canceling night yards and baseball practices and diverting welfare money to pay for employee positions. It has a clear incentive to repair outdated infrastructure to help maintain prisons and a massive budget.

Californians should push back against this. The state should stay focused on closing old prisons and releasing old prisoners well beyond their criminal or athletic years.

After spending more than 30 years in prison, I know that my sports-playing days are over. I’m not interested in ballgames. I’m interested in going back to my community.