“I don’t plan on coming out for the anthem going forward until I feel better about the direction of our country” - San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler takes bold stand for his views, refuses to take the field for American national anthem
Shortly after writing a blog post stating his political views on American gun violence, San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler is taking his standpoint even further by refusing to take the field for the American national anthem at any MLB games.
Kapler's blog post was titled "Home of the Brave?" and was a response to the recent Robb Elementary School shooting, which took place on Tuesday, May 24, 2022. Kapler mourned the death of all the shooter's victims, 19 of whom were fourth-grade-level students. Two of the others were teachers. The 18-year-old perpetrator also wounded 17 others at the school in Uvalde, Texas.
We’re not the land of the free nor the home of the brave right now. kaplifestyle.com/2022/05/27/hom…
"We’re not the land of the free nor the home of the brave right now" - @gabe kapler
Kapler is discontented with the country's poltical response. In the blog post, he questioned U.S. gun laws and criticized his country's lack of meaningful responses to prevent similar tragedies in the future. Kapler's main message to readers was to protest the country's current attitude toward gun control. He said that he considered kneeling for his country's national anthem before the Giants game earlier this week, but decided not to out of respect for the shooting's victims. However, he said he still wished he had.
Now he's taking his standpoint all the way. The San Francisco Giants manager has officially decided not to take the baseball field before games for the national anthem.
San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler takes bold stand for his views, refuses to take the field for American national anthem
Prior to today's game, Kapler met with the media to release the news. When asked about his recent blog post, the San Francisco Giants skipper told reporters that he stood by his views. Here's the interview in which he made his standpoint clear.
“I don’t plan on coming out for the anthem going forward until I feel better about the direction of our country” – Gabe Kapler https://t.co/J1MdlVL3XI
“I don’t plan on coming out for the anthem going forward until I feel better about the direction of our country” – Gabe Kapler - @SF Giants on NBCS
Kapler added that he didn't expect his action to change U.S. policies on gun control. He said this is an issue he feels "strongly about" and wants to make his views clear.
"That'll be the step," he said. "I don't expect it to move the needle necessarily. It's just something that I feel strongly about---to take that step. The rest of what I wrote I think explains the rest of that."
A reporter then asked what compelled him to write the blog post.
"I was having a hard time articulating my thoughts the day of the shooting," he replied. "Sometimes, for me, it takes me a couple days to put everything together.
"I knew that I was not in my best place mentally, and I knew that it was in connection with some of the hypocrisy of standing for the national anthem and how it coincided with the moment of silence and how those two things didn't sync up well for me, but I wasn't quite sure... it took me a couple of days to put all my thoughts together and be able to articulate them."
Kapler has not yet specified what kind of political action will make him stand for the national anthem again.