Calls to boycott Major League Baseball spiked Tuesday after the league posted a photo of some San Francisco Giants players kneeling during the national anthem prior to an exhibition game.
The hashtag #BoycottMLB trended on Twitter as some social-media commentators accused the league of showing a lack of respect for the military, which the league denied.
“It has never been about the military or the flag,” the MLB tweeted. “The players and coaches are using their platforms to peacefully protest.”
The kneelers included Giants manager Gabe Kapler, who said he planned to use his platform to “demonstrate my dissatisfaction with our clear systemic racism in our country,” according to ESPN.
“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.
The video showed Kapler and at least two others kneeling before a Monday exhibition game against the Oakland A’s.
President Trump, an outspoken critic of take-a-knee protests at NFL games, did not comment directly on the baseball protest, but made it clear Tuesday that he still opposes the refusal to stand for the national anthem.
“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!” he tweeted.
Players kneeling during the anthem is expected to increase as professional sports gradually resume following the novel coronavirus shutdown, spurred by the mass protests over the May 25 death of George Floyd, a Black man in Minneapolis police custody.
Members of the @SFGiants kneel during the National Anthem. #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/QbvAvCZiEs
— MLB (@MLB) July 21, 2020
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!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 21, 2020
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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