SF Giants Manager Says He Won't Be On Field For Anthem Until Country Changes

Kapler is upset about the direction of our country after the latest mass shooting, and now he is protesting the national anthem.

He says he will no longer join players and coaches on the field before games for the playing of the national anthem because he is breaking from baseball tradition.

The Giants manager told reporters Friday in Cincinnati before his club played the Reds, that he doesn't plan on coming out for the anthem going forward until he feels better about the direction of our country.

The Uvalde school shooting and the response across the sporting world were some of the topics discussed in a post by Gabe.

The day 19 children and 2 teachers were murdered, we held a moment of silence at sporting events around the country, then we played the national anthem, and we went on with our lives.

The all-too-familiar response is not sitting well with the man.

He says his father taught him a lesson early on in life, and he is applying it to his anthem protest.

Kapler writes that his father taught him to stand for the pledge of allegiance when he believed his country was representing its people well or to protest and stay seated when it wasn't.

He tried to protest the anthem earlier this week, but it didn't happen.

He wrote that his brain told him to drop to a knee. I felt like I wasn't doing anything. I didn't want to be noticed. I did not want to take away from the victims or their families. There was a rock band and a baseball game. I knew that thousands of people were playing this game to escape the horrors of the world. I knew that thousands more wouldn't understand the gesture and would take it as an offense to the military, to veterans, to themselves.

He decided to protest the anthem after a few days of reflection.

I am not okay with the state of this country. The home of the brave should encourage this.