Before making his debut for the Los Angeles Dodgers – and a day after signing the second largest contract in MLB history – Mookie Betts made a great statement by kneeling during the national anthem.
During the hymn, several representatives of the San Francisco Giants knelt, including Pablo Sandoval, Mike Yastrzemski, Hunter Pence, and manager Gabe Kapler.
The demonstration followed the previous game between the Yankees and the Nationals, in which the full squad of both teams knelt in a “moment of unity” before the national anthem performed on Thursday’s opening day.
As Lindsey Adler of The Athletic first reported on Thursday, the players lined up at the first and third baselines and held a long piece of black fabric that runs around the diamond.
The display, which is described as “player-led”, is said to have been directed by Phillies outfielder Andrew McCutchen.
“This moment is important for all MLB players to unite and support each other at the beginning of the 2020 baseball season. Our league makeup is unique: almost a third of the players were born abroad, ”McCutchen said in a statement to The Athletic. “No matter where we come from, we’re all facing struggles for social justice and equality, concerns about protecting our families and communities in a global pandemic, and the same challenges when returning to baseball. This is our time to stand together before we take over the field as competitors. “
Ahead of the 2020 MLB season, a number of players across the MLB have kneeled during the national anthem, including members of the Giants and Reds.
Kapler was a member of the organization in San Francisco who was kneeling and said in part in a statement: “I told them that I want 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. “
Just a few hours before the 2020 regular season begins, the Major League Baseball Players Association has reportedly approved an agreement with MLB to expand its postseason to 16 teams this year.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, gave the ceremonial first place in the National Park to open the competition on Thursday.
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