OAKLAND, California (AP) – San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler and several of his players knelt the national anthem ahead of Monday night’s showday as opposed to the Oakland Athletics.
Right fielder Jaylin Davis and primary base coach Antoan Richardson, whether African-American, also knelt, while Brandon Crawford, the short guy, stood with each other with one hand on his shoulders. Davis held his right hand over his heart, while Richardson clasped his hands in front of him.
Kapler, who began his first season driving the Giants after two disappointing years of guiding the Phillies, did not talk about his intention to kneel in a pre-game consultation with members of the media.
Kapler has been frank about social injustice and racial upheaval and the role of athletes in stimulating change.
Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick began kneeling before the national anthem in 2016 to control racial inequality and police mistreatment of minorities. It has been heavily criticized for years, but public sentiment has been replaced by the death of George Floyd in May.
Floyd, a black man, died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee against Floyd’s neck while Floyd handcuffed him and said he couldn’t breathe.
Former A-wide catcher Bruce Maxwell in 2017 became the first primary leaguer to kneel before the anthem after Kaepernick began his silent protest.
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