MLB Manager Set to Protest Nat'l Anthem After Uvalde Massacre
Over the course of the last several years, sports stars far and wide have discovered a surefire new way to garner attention for themselves, and the tactic is leaking into the coaching staff as well.
We’re talking about anthem protests, of course, where the tradition of giving praise to the nation that provided the player with an opportunity to make a living in a game is eschewed for the purpose of angering and frustrating those of us who have a great reverence for our country.
Now, several years after Colin Kaepernick popularized the offensive display, there are baseball managers getting involved.
San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler will no longer stand with his team for the national anthem until he “feels better about the direction of our country” in the wake of the Texas school shooting on Tuesday that left 19 students and two teachers dead.
Kapler spoke with reporters ahead of Friday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds to explain his choice not to participate in the national anthem, a decision he first revealed in a lengthy blog post earlier in the day.
His open-ended statement was as bland as it was bold.
“I don’t plan on coming out for the anthem going forward until I feel better about the direction of our country,” he told reporters. “That’ll be the step. I don’t expect it to move the needle necessarily. It’s just something I feel strongly enough about to take that step.”
Kapler posted a lengthy diatribe regarding his beliefs entitled “Home of The Brave?”, redundantly reiterating his attention-seeking maneuver.
