Giants manager takes a knee during anthem and Trump tweets 'the game is over for me' [View all]
Source: Washington Post
Giants manager takes a knee during anthem and Trump tweets the game is over for me
By Cindy Boren
7/21/2020, 7:58:17 a.m.
In one of the first Major League Baseball games since sports shut down after the novel coronavirus outbreak, San Francisco Giants Manager Gabe Kapler and several players and staff took a knee during the national anthem, drawing a quick response from President Trump.
Looking forward to live sports, Trump tweeted Tuesday morning, 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!
The demonstration was the first by an MLB team since Bruce Maxwell took a knee in September 2017, when NFL players and other athletes followed the example set by Colin Kaepernick by taking a knee to protest police brutality and racial injustice. The demonstrations angered the president, who saw it as criticism of the flag and the military. Now, with sports competition returning a little less than two months after the shooting deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other unarmed blacks sparked protests across the country, Trump is taking the same stance that set off a national debate.
Athletes demonstrations seem likely to be repeated as sports gear up again. The opener between the Washington Nationals and New York Mets Thursday night will carry a subliminal message, with Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and one of the countrys leading voices during the pandemic, throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.
Kapler, who is in his first season managing the Giants, is believed to be the first manager or head coach of any of the four major North American pro sports leagues to protest in such a way. He told players and staff his intention Monday and said he would support whatever decision each individual made.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/07/21/giants-manager-takes-knee-during-anthem-trump-tweets-game-is-over-me/