The statue was dedicated in 2021 in honor of Robinson, the first African-American player to break the color line in Major League Baseball.

[2] Joe Sullivan, the chief of police in Wichita stated in a press conference: I'm frustrated by the actions of those individuals who had the audacity to take the statue of Jackie Robinson from a park where kids and families in our community gather to learn the history of Jackie Robinson, an American icon, and play the game of baseball.

[3][4] A week after the theft occurred, on what would have been Robinson's 105th birthday, all 30 Major League Baseball teams announced that they would help replace the vandalized statue; the artwork would be recast using the initial mold with completion planned for summer 2024.

[5] MLB also announced they would provide funding for League 42's youth baseball program, to help it achieve its academic and on-field goals.

[7] The following month, it was announced that the bronze cleats left behind by the vandals would to be donated to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.