Major League Baseball came out in defense of players who knelt during the national anthem on Monday evening, taking on critics and tweeting in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
As Breitbart News reported, several members of the San Francisco Giants took a knee during the playing of the Star-Spangled Banner during a preseason game hosted by the Oakland Athletics before an empty stadium filled with cardboard cutouts.
The Giants proudly tweeted out the protest:
#BlackLivesMatter
pic.twitter.com/cypjLQfoIZ— SFGiants (@SFGiants) July 21, 2020
Amidst much criticism online, the league’s Twitter account began defending the protest and issued tweets in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Members of the @SFGiants kneel during the National Anthem. #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/QbvAvCZiEs
— MLB (@MLB) July 21, 2020
The national anthem is sang for our military not our law enforcement firstly. You kneel you're disrespecting your military. Yes black lives matter, kneeling for the national is showing complete lack of respect for out men and women fighting for your freedom
— Mike Grozier (@MikeGrozier) July 21, 2020
pllllleeeeaaaseeee stop posting things like this. yes black lives do indeed matter. but it’s a polarizing topic. keep politics out of baseball!
— Jayson (@jayson_nyy) July 21, 2020
Clayton Kershaw is speaking up. pic.twitter.com/bfKiS89nxS
— MLB (@MLB) July 20, 2020
Quit bringing all this political bs into sports! You are there to play a game not to be a politician, play the game.
— Zettle_7 (@JacobZettle) July 20, 2020
The league is set to launch a 60-game season later this week, shortened because of the coronavirus pandemic. Games will be played before empty stadiums, and several rule changes have been adopted for players’ safety.
Story cited here.
