The MLB (and Their Twitter Account) is Holding Nothing Back
With the MLB season (finally) starting up this week, it’s safe to say most of you out there are excited. The return of sports hopefully points to some sort of normalcy in the midst of all that is going on. Some teams have started playing exhibition games in order to ramp up to Opening Day, and this has created a bit of a stir on Twitter. Not any of the baseball itself, mind you, but the National Anthem beforehand. Towards the end of the day, a few San Fransisco Giants players decided to kneel during the anthem, and the MLB tweeted it out:
Members of the @SFGiants kneel during the National Anthem. #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/QbvAvCZiEs
— MLB (@MLB) July 21, 2020
This, of course, caused quite a stir. While some in the NFL started kneeling after former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick did in 2016 to protest racial injustice, the practice hadn’t extended much into the other major sports. (By the way, if you want to understand more about kneeling, I suggest this article about an interview with former football player and Green Beret Nate Boyer).The NBA and NASCAR both made statements regarding kneeling last month, but this is the first time a major professional sports league has officially promoted it (note: I don’t consider the MLS and NWSL big enough to be “major”). And I’m not just talking about posting about it once on their page. The MLB had multiple responses clearly defining their stance on the gesture:
Supporting human rights is not political.
— 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
Because of their firm stance on the topic, some are now calling to boycott the MLB. This has led to a smaller counter-protest, with others on Twitter claiming they will now be watching the MLB in order to support their actions. Time will tell how effective this is, especially with the USA being so sports-starved the past few months. I’m just thankful someone is paying attention to what these protests really mean.
– Pat Shuman (@PShu1996 on Twitter)