Washington Nationals Shamed Into Paying Minor Leaguers $400 Per Week

The Washington Nationals have been dragged into doing the right thing.

After announcing they would only pay their minor leaguers $300 a week instead of the standard $400, the Nationals were excoriated on social media, with even their own players ripping the organization's decision. After a day of being shamed, the franchise has reversed course and will pay its minor leaguers the full amount.

While the final decision was the right one, the fact the Nationals had to be dragged into it is incredibly concerning. Washington reliever Sean Doolittle even took to Twitter to announce he and his teammates didn't agree with the decision and would chip in to help them out:

Nationals majority owner Mark Lerner is worth an estimated $5.3 billion, and he was willing to slash the pay of his minor league players by 25 percent to save a few bucks. Cutting their pay would have saved him roughly $80,000 a month which, in the grand scheme of things, is nothing.

The Nationals are coming off their first World Series title, a run that certainly filled the organization's coffers. The idea that the owners would then attempt to cut corners when it comes to taking care of their lowest-paid employees is abhorrent. Thankfully they were shamed into doing the right thing.