SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco Giants’ right fielder, Jaylin Davis, called his home and spoke to his family. Then his decision became immediately apparent: he would kneel before the national anthem.
That is, if there was a hymn. The Giants were playing a fanless exhibition game Monday in Oakland after a months-long delay caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Davis, it turned out, had all kinds of support around him, including San Francisco freshman manager Gabe Kapler, who also knelt before the Giants’ 6-2 victory.
Outfielders Mike Yastrzemski and Austin Slater decided to kneel down. So did first-base coach Antoan Richardson. Shortstop Brandon Crawford stood between Davis and Richardson with a hand on each man’s shoulder.
“For them being brave enough to do it really did mean a lot,” Davis said Tuesday. “… We talked at the beginning, even before we started camp, that we wanted to make it known that we weren’t going to let it all get out of it just because baseball was back. ”
Kapler and Davis have been in regular communication on racial and social issues, and the manager called Davis earlier Monday to ask what Davis could do.
After the game, Kapler said the Giants would continue to have important discussions about their role in driving change and making an impact when it comes to racism and injustice.
Davis, 26, who is black, said it was a difficult decision to kneel, given that he is a rookie. Then Yastrzemski and Hunter Pence pulled him away and assured him that they would support him anyway.
Davis said he has more ideas on how to shed light on the issues that matter to him.
“They told me not to worry about being a first-year boy or anything. If I felt comfortable doing it, then I should do it,” Davis said. “Making Gabe and all of them do it too, that kind of helped me feel more comfortable about it. I think it’s been great. I got text messages from guys I played with the Twins, old coaches I had. I just They said they would support me, and they are behind me. ”
President Donald Trump noticed and posted on Twitter: “I look forward to practicing live sports, but every time I see a player kneeling during the National Anthem, a sign of great disrespect for our country and our flag, the game ends for me! ” ‘
When asked about Trump’s post, Kapler said he doesn’t see kneeling as disrespectful.
“I see nothing more than defending what you believe,” he said. “I don’t see anything more patriotic than peaceful protests when things are frustrating and annoying, and finally, there is no one to stop us from doing the right thing.” .
“It doesn’t matter which leader says they aren’t going to play a game. What matters most is that we don’t hesitate to try to do the right thing. What guides our decision is defending the people who need us to defend them.”
Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick began kneeling during the national anthem in 2016 to protest racial inequality and minority police mistreatment. He was criticized for years, but public sentiment has changed since George Floyd’s death in May. Floyd, a black man, died after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for more than seven minutes while Floyd was handcuffed and said he couldn’t breathe.
Kapler has been outspoken on issues like police brutality. He spoke to his team Monday before getting down on his knees.
A’s manager Bob Melvin saw former catcher Bruce Maxwell become the first major player to kneel for the anthem in 2017. Melvin was unaware of Kapler’s plan beforehand.
“If our boys want to do that, we will also support it,” Melvin said Tuesday. “Peaceful protest depends on the individual, and we have also told our boys that.” No, it didn’t surprise me. He didn’t say that, that he was going to do that, but it didn’t surprise me, and I think you’ll see a lot more of that. ”
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