By Sukhmani Kaur Batra, Courier Staff Writer
Bruce Maxwell, the Oakland Athletics’ backup catcher, said he’ll stand for the national anthem in 2018 after being the first player in Major League Baseball to kneel during the anthem in protest social injustices.
Maxwell became the first Major League Baseball player to kneel during the anthem when he did so before a home game against the Texas Rangers on Sept. 23, 2017. Maxwell said, after the game, that he was kneeling “for the people that don’t have a voice.”
Maxwell took a knee for the anthem on Sept. 21, following in the footsteps of NFL players, most notably former 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick. Maxwell’s protest came one day after President Donald Trump attacked NFL players who took a knee, calling such players a “son of a b****.”
On Twitter, Maxwell, through his agent, said his decision to kneel represented concern for racial injustice as well as freedom of speech and exercise of peaceful protest.
The reaction to Maxwell’s actions was divisive and controversial, but Maxwell made it very clear at the time that he was from a military family, so he had the utmost respect for the military and the U.S. flag.
“My kneeling, the way I did it, was to symbolize that I’m kneeling for a cause, but I’m in no way or form disrespecting my country or my flag,” said Maxwell. When he took a knee, he put his hand over his heart and looked at the flag.
In a statement, Maxwell said,“Taking a knee during the National anthem last season was not a decision I made lightly.”
“As a member of a military family, I respect the sacrifices of the men and women who served and continue to serve our country. The purpose of the gesture was to raise awareness about social issues affecting our country, and while I’m looking forward to a society that is inclusive, empathetic and a welcoming place, I will not continue the symbolic gesture of taking a knee during our National Anthem this season,” he said.
Stephanie Padilla, a senior said, “I completely understand where he’s coming from. The way he knelt was not disrespectful in any way.”