SF Giants manager suspends national anthem protest for Memorial Day

San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler suspended his national anthem protest, which he began after last week’s deadly mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, to acknowledge Memorial Day.

Following the shooting, Kapler said he would refuse to take the field for the national anthem in protest until he felt “better about the direction of our country.”

But in a post on his personal blog, he said he was standing for the anthem at the team’s game on Monday against the Philadelphia Phillies to honor service members who have passed away.

“While I believe strongly in the right to protest and the importance of doing so, I also believe strongly in honoring and mourning our country’s service men and women who fought and died for that right,” Kapler wrote.

“Those who serve in our military, and especially those who have paid the ultimate price for our rights and freedoms, deserve that acknowledgment and respect, and I am honored to stand on the line today to show mine,” he continued.

Kapler also announced he would donate to nonprofit Everytown for Gun Safety and The Heart and Armor Foundation, an organization that aims to protect veterans’ health and connect civilians to the experience of military service members.

“Voicing concerns thoughtfully and protesting peacefully are both patriotic actions; so is supporting organizations that are in the weeds solving problems,” Kapler wrote.

Other MLB managers have mostly been supportive of Kapler’s protest; however, White Sox Manager Tony La Russa said while he agreed with the sentiment, he didn’t approve of the action.

“I think he’s exactly right to be concerned … with what’s happening in our country,” La Russa said before a game on Saturday night, according to ESPN. “He’s right there. Where I disagree is the flag and the anthem are not appropriate places to try to voice your objections.”

Kapler and several of his players have protested the anthem before, kneeling during a July 2020 game to protest racial injustice.

The New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays skipped covering their game on social media Thursday night, instead using their accounts to raise awareness about gun violence in the aftermath of the Uvalde shooting.

“Every time I place my hand over my heart and remove my hat, I’m participating in a self congratulatory glorification of the ONLY country where these mass shootings take place,” Kapler wrote in a blog post last week detailing his protest decision.