The manager of the San Francisco Giants and several coaches and team members knelt during the national anthem before their first exhibition game in the Bay Area on Monday night.
Manager Gabe Kapler and coaching staff joined players Mike Yastrzemski, Austin Slater and Jaylin Davis and coaches Antoan Richardson and Justin Viele to kneel, according to the NBC Bay Area. Shortstop Brandon Crawford stepped between Richardson and Davis, both black, and placed his hands on his shoulders in apparent support.
The Giants did not announce before the game against the Oakland Athletics at the Oakland Coliseum that some members would kneel, but Kapler, who was hired in November, said he had informed the team of his plans.
“I wanted to share what my plans were and I did so because I wanted them to know that I was not happy with the way our country has handled police brutality. I told them that I wanted to amplify their voices and I wanted to amplify them. The voice of the black community and the underserved communities too, “Kapler said, according to NBC Sports.
He said the decision was the result of weeks of talks with community organizations and also with the team.
“I told them that I wanted to use my platform to demonstrate my dissatisfaction with the way we handle racism in our country. I wanted to demonstrate my dissatisfaction with our clear systemic racism in our country,” said Kapler. “And I wanted them to know that they had to make their own decisions and that we would respect and support those decisions. I wanted them to feel safe speaking, so we had these kinds of discussions for the past few days and we will continue to have them.”
When asked if he and other Giants would continue to kneel, Kapler said, “We will have 60 opportunities during the regular season to make the same decision we made today, whether to stand or kneel or do something different.”
In a statement, Farhan Zaidi, president of baseball operations for the San Francisco Giants, said the team was “proud of our players and staff for continuing to engage in the national conversation about racial injustice.”
“We support those who knelt peacefully to protest racial injustice and those who expressed their love for the country. We do not see them as mutually exclusive feelings and we believe that the freedom to express both is what our country is all about,” the statement said. . “As an organization, we reaffirm our denunciation of acts of discrimination and violence against members of the black community and our commitment to work together with those seeking to end racial justice in the United States.”
MLB shared a video of the kneeling moment on Twitter and defended those who knelt against critics. “Supporting human rights is not political,” MLB replied to a dissatisfied fan. For another person complaining that kneeling during the anthem disrespected the military and the flag, the league said: “It has never been about the military or the flag. Players and coaches are using their platforms to protest peacefully.”
On the same field in 2017, Oakland Athletics receiver Bruce Maxwell was the first MLB player to kneel. Although his team expressed support at the time, Maxwell told NBC Sports that the Giants’ gesture on Monday received a much more positive response.
“It is definitely day and night,” Maxwell said of the different reactions. “It is a different experience, a different response in this day and age than in 2017, extremely. But it is good to see,” said Maxwell after the Giants beat the Athletics in Monday’s game.
“I felt joy, honestly,” said Maxwell. “That was probably my main thrill. Feeling joyful that the message and purpose of kneeling is spread throughout our sport.”
Meanwhile, on Monday, Los Angeles Angels reliever Keynan Middleton also knelt and raised his fist during the national anthem before an Angels game against the San Diego Padres in Petco Park, NBC Sports reported.
