San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler knelt during the national anthem alongside a couple of his players.
Kapler, right fielder Jaylin Davis, and first-base coach Antoan Richardson all participated in the silent protest on Monday ahead of what turned out to be a 6-2 exhibition victory at the Oakland Athletics.
“I wanted them to know that I wasn’t pleased with the way our country has handled police brutality, and I told them I wanted to amplify their voices and I wanted to amplify the voice of the Black community and marginalized communities as well,” Kapler said about telling the team ahead of time of his plan to protest, according to ESPN.
“So I told them that I wanted to use my platform to demonstrate my dissatisfaction with the way we’ve handled racism in our country,” the 44-year-old manager continued. “I wanted to demonstrate my dissatisfaction with our clear systemic racism in our country, and I wanted them to know that they got to make their own decisions, and we would respect and support those decisions. I wanted them to feel safe in speaking up.”
As “The Star-Spangled Banner” played, shortstop Brandon Crawford, who is white, stood between Richardson and Davis and held a hand on each of their shoulders. Richardson held his hands in front of his body while Davis kept his hand over his heart.
Kapler said that he wanted these conversations to be “a part of the fabric of our clubhouse.”
Members of the @SFGiants kneel during the National Anthem. #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/QbvAvCZiEs
— MLB (@MLB) July 21, 2020
“We’ve had a lot of conversations about the anthem over the course of the last 72 hours, and when I say we, I mean our coaching staff and our players,” he explained. “We connected with small groups of players. We connected with players individually and had meaningful conversations about this topic.”
Kneeling during the national anthem has been a form of silent protest ahead of sporting events ever since former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick began kneeling during “The Star-Spangled Banner” in 2016 to raise awareness about police brutality and systemic racism. The demonstrations have drawn the ire of President Trump and conservatives who accused them of disrespecting the flag and military.
“Looking forward to live sports, but any time I witness a player kneeling during the National Anthem, a sign of great disrespect for our Country and our Flag, the game is over for me!” Trump tweeted on Tuesday, referring to professional sports returning after they were shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Many athletes are expected to kneel during this upcoming season, should they happen, after the issues of racial injustice and police use of force were thrust back into the country’s spotlight following the high-profile death of George Floyd and other black people.
