The first Major League Baseball player to take a knee during the national anthem says he was denied service by a waiter at a restaurant in Huntsville, Ala.
Oakland Athletics catcher Bruce Maxwell said his waiter, who identified as a supporter of President Trump’s, recognized him after he ordered a beer and had his ID checked. The waiter then refused to serve the MLB player and company – a local city councilman and one other friend.
“He was like, ‘You’re the guy who took the knee? I voted for Trump, and I stand for everything he stands for,'” Maxwell told TMZ.
“Our councilman went and got their manager and had some words with him and took him off of our table and put us another person on our table,” Maxwell added.
At a rally for incumbent Sen. Luther Strange in Huntsville, Ala., in September, the president called on NFL team owners to fire any player who kneels during the national anthem.
“He was at that rally in Huntsville,” Maxwell said of the waiter.
The MLB player said he is committed to the cause and will continue to kneel. Maxwell also said he has struck up a friendship with Colin Kaepernick, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who began the kneeling protests last season.
