A's Bruce Maxwell first MLB player to kneel for anthem

[highplainsdem]

Source: SF Gate

A’s rookie catcher Bruce Maxwell, who earlier in the day profanely bashed President Donald Trump on Instagram, became the first major-league player to kneel during the National Anthem on Saturday before Oakland’s game at the Coliseum.

The product of a military family, Maxwell placed his hand on his heart and faced the flag during the anthem while taking a knee before the game against Texas. Teammate Mark Canha placed his hand on Maxwell’s shoulder.

The A's issued a statement on Twitter after the National Anthem that read: "The Oakland A's pride ourselves on being inclusive. We respect and support all our players' constitutional rights and freedom of expression."

-snip-

After Trump’s comments urging NFL owners to fire any players who kneel for the anthem, Maxwell posted a tweet from Andrew Steinthal that suggested that all NFL players should kneel for the anthem on Sunday. Below the post, Maxwell added in a comment, "Yeah, f- this guy! Our president speaks of inequality of man because players are protesting the anthem! F- this man! Seriously on the highest platform for our country expressing that it is OK for there to be division of man and rights!"

-snip-

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/athletics/article/A-s-Bruce-Maxwell-first-MLB-player-to-kneel-for-12223798.php

[dalton99a]

1. Awesome.

[oberliner]

2. Tomorrow in the NFL will be very interesting

On the one hand, it will be fascinating to see what the players decide to do.

On the other hand, it feels like Trump is deliberately creating a distraction.

[California_Republic]

25. I think it will be interesting to see if fans leave

As trump told them to

[FarPoint]

26. At the price of NFL Tickets... my thoughts...

99% will stay and have another beer...my guess.

[chaking53]

3. Everyone every where should take a knee

Last edited Sat Sep 23, 2017, 10:57 PM - Edit history (1)

Everyone every where should kneel until all mad dog police are brought to bay!!!

[pangaia]

4. hear hear.....

or is it here here?

I never knew.

So just in case.. 'HEAR HERE!"

[Gore1FL]

12. Hear (him/her), hear (him/her) nt

[bathroommonkey76]

5. It would be nice to see bigger MLB stars protest Hair Hitler.

Maxwell has a lot of balls doing this in the majors! Good for him!

?w=1024&h=614&crop=1

[MyOwnPeace]

7. Yeah!

Like "times 100!"

[Brother Buzz]

11. Mark Canha is standing in solidarity with his hand on Maxwell's shoulder

[iluvtennis]

13. The rest will follow. Many sports analysts predicted Trump's comment would spur this

camaraderie. Love it.

[highplainsdem]

6. The A's have tweeted their support:

Link to tweet

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/352103-oakland-athletics-tweet-support-after-player-becomes-first-to

The Oakland Athletics tweeted a statement in support of players who kneel during the national anthem moments after a player on the team became the first major league baseball player to do so.

“The Oakland A’s pride ourselves on being inclusive. We respect and support all of our players’ constitutional rights and freedom of expression,” the team tweeted Saturday.

pic.twitter.com/EHXwg8Zpax
— Oakland A's (@Athletics) September 24, 2017

-snip-

[MyOwnPeace]

8. And....

times 100 to them, too!

[oberliner]

9. They will take any publicity they can get at this point

Probably one of the two or three worst franchises in baseball.

[LunaSea]

10. Reviresco!

[LeftyMom]

14. On one hand baseball has a lot fewer black American players,

but on the other hand baseball has a much stronger union, longer careers, and contracts that actually mean something.

There are fewer players with a stake in the issue, but they also have much less to lose than football players.

[CherokeeFiddle]

15. A lot more Latino players in baseball too

[LeftyMom]

16. Yes, and the racial politics there are complicated.

Plus a lot of players are immigrants who may not feel strongly about an American issue either way. The native born players tend to skew white, southern and evangelical with the politics you'd expect.

[PSPS]

19. Think of it like an abortion

If you don't like it, don't do it.

[EL34x4]

20. If you don't like it, don't go to the games or watch them on TV.

This seems to be the growing response. Empty stadiums and poor TV ratings are beginning to be a concern.

[SunSeeker]

24. People are not going to stop watching pro sports. Not gonna happen.

But your concern is duly noted.

[haele]

22. Sorry, the National Anthem does not deserve more respect than the Constitution.

I spent 20 years of my life defending the Constitution and objectively the security of my Country, even though more times than not we were mis-used for political or corporate profit.

Nothing in the official Flag Code says it's wrong to kneel when the flag is presented. And there's no s "National Anthem Code" because technically, the National Anthem is only official when the Flag is being presented, such as during "colors".

You may not like what's going on, but making this a "they're traitors if they don't blindly follow what I think is Traditional Law" isn't the point. There is no legal or Constitutional dictate to patriotic action in this country.

I can guarantee that a good quarter of the people complaining about kneeling and disrespect to Flag and Country have a Confederate flag proudly displayed on something they own.

Haele

[SunSeeker]

23. How is it disrespectful? He is attentive, has his hand over his heart.

And taking a knee is not like sitting and looking away or turning your back. In sports, coaches ask players to "take a knee" when they want their undivided attention. It is not a symbol of disrespect. It is a symbol that they're paying attention --and expressing their protest to racism they see. They're protesting racism, not the flag.

[billh58]

28. The "tear" in the fabric that is

"America" is the Orange Anus-Mouth in the Oval Office that he occupies by having manipulated the voting process with the help of his Russian comrades.

The national anthem is nothing more than a song, and the flag is a piece of fabric. The real America is its people, and patriotism is standing up, or kneeling, for what you believe because we have the right to do that.

[brush]

29. Guess you don't know Kaepernick's protest was not against the anthem or the military.

It's against racist cops who keep killing unarmed, innocent black men all over the country.

I also guess that doesn't matter to you but it does to a lot of people, including me.

[Lithos]

30. Meh

The Flag represents our Freedom. A respectful display of those rights is as great an honor than those who hide behind it or give lip service for selfish means.

It is a lot like those who go to church each Sunday and do the rituals and talk about being a good Christian. But never practice it yet pretending they are better than those who do good. Going thru the motions each Sunday does not mean a thing.

[riversedge]

18. Maxwell kneeled tonight for National Anthem, 1st MLB player to do so. Was embraced by teammate after

AmazingSOP Retweeted
Darren Rovell?Verified account @darrenrovell 2h2 hours ago

A's catcher Bruce Maxwell kneeled tonight for National Anthem, 1st MLB player to do so. Was embraced by teammate after (via @SantiagoMejia) #takeaKnew

Link to tweet

[47of74]

21. Awaiting the reich wing freak out.

And allow me to preemptively say fuck you to those reich wingers who do freak out.

[Ken Burch]

27. Anytime somebody puts their career on the line for a good cause, that's heroism.

n/t.