The Giants posted a video of their kneeling team members on their official Twitter account titled “#BlackLivesMatter.”
Kapler, who grew up in an atmosphere of activism, has been open about the Black Lives Matter movement, according to the Giants website. During her post-game interview, Kapler said the team has been having conversations about standing or kneeling before the anthem for the past three days. Kapler said he wanted to convey two messages to the players: The Giants organization supports them and he himself was not satisfied with the way the country has handled police brutality.
“I told them that I wanted to amplify their voices and that I also wanted to amplify the voice of the black community and marginalized communities,” he said. “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 and systemic racism in our country, and I wanted them to know that they made their own decisions and we We would respect and support those decisions. “
Farhan Zaidi, president of the Giants’ baseball operations, said in a statement that the team was proud of the players and staff for participating in the national discussion about racial injustice.
“We support those who knelt to peacefully 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,” Zaidi said.
Outfielders Jaylin Davis, Mike Yastrzemski and Austin Slater along with first base coach Antoan Richardson were among the other players and staff who knelt on Monday.
The Major League Baseball organization was also responding to people’s comments about kneeling on Twitter. One user said that the players and the manager did not respect the military.
“It has never been about the army or the flag,” MLB said in response. “Players and coaches are using their platforms to protest peacefully.”
Los Angeles Angels pitcher Keynan Middleton also knelt and raised his fist in the air during the national anthem Monday during the Angels’ game against the San Diego Padres.
The kneeling comes at a time when athletes, artists and companies are coming to terms with systemic racism and police killings of black people. Athletes, from professional leagues to high school teams, have knelt before the anthem in support of ongoing protests for social justice and racial equality. But the most prominent athlete who knelt during the anthem was Colin Kaepernick, who first sat down and then knelt for the anthem in 2016..
Monday’s game was the Giants’ first exhibition game of the season. The regular season for Major League Baseball will begin on Thursday. Each team will play a 60 game schedule entirely against teams in their own geographic region to limit travel.
CNN’s Jill Martin contributed to this report.
