“My answer is that I don’t consider it disrespect at all,” said Kapler.
“I see nothing more American than standing up for what you believe in. I see nothing more patriotic than peaceful protests when things are frustrating and disturbing,” said Kapler.
Kapler knelt alongside several Giants players during Monday’s anthem against Oakland Athletics.
The Giants posted a video of their team members kneeling on the team’s official Twitter account titled “#BlackLivesMatter”.
Trump, a frequent critic of anthem protests, replied in a tweet.
“I’m looking forward to live sports, but every time I see a player kneeling during the national anthem, a sign of great disrespect for our country and our flag, the game is over for me!” Trump wrote.
Kapler, who went on his knees with the players again on Tuesday, said Trump’s criticism would not stop him.
“There is no one who should make us stop doing the right thing. It doesn’t matter what the leader says he won’t follow a game. Most importantly, we are steadfastly trying to do the right thing. ” “he said.” What guides our decision is to stand up for people who need us to stand up for them. ”
Athletes knelt for the anthem to support protests for social justice and racial equality as the country grappled with systemic racism and protests broke out against police killing black people.
Anthem performances were popularized by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who first sat in 2016 and then knelt for the anthem.
In an interview after the game on Monday, Kapler said the Giants had had three days of talks before the exhibition about what to do during the anthem.
“I told them I wanted to increase their voices, and I also wanted to increase the voices of the black community and marginalized communities,” he said. “I told them that I wanted to use my platform to demonstrate my dissatisfaction with how we deal with racism in our country. I wanted to demonstrate my dissatisfaction with our clear, systemic racism in our country, and I wanted them to know that have to make their own decisions and we would respect and support those decisions. “
“We support those who kneel to peacefully protest racial injustice and those who speak out for love of the country. We do not see this as mutually exclusive feelings and believe that our country is about freedom, both express, “said Zaidi.
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