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
It has never been about the military or the flag. The players and coaches are using their platforms to peacefully protest.
— MLB (@MLB) July 21, 2020
Supporting human rights is not political.
— MLB (@MLB) July 21, 2020
Clayton Kershaw is speaking up. pic.twitter.com/bfKiS89nxS
— MLB (@MLB) July 20, 2020
Supporting our players and supporting equality is not political.
— MLB (@MLB) July 21, 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.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). His new book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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