Following the massacre of schoolchildren and the bungled police response in Uvalde, Texas, Gabe Kapler, the San Francisco Giants manager, will no longer come out for the national anthem before the start of each game. However, it seems like the former Phillies manager’s, who was run out of town, antics backfired as his antics didn’t really pan out to much. In fact, Gabe Kapler already made it back out to the field for the National Anthem on Memorial Day.
Ahead of the Giants game against the Reds, Kapler told reporters in Cincinnati that he would not participate in the national anthem ceremony “until I feel better about the direction of our country.”
Kapler described in a blog post earlier, how he felt on the day 19 children and two teachers were murdered at Robb Elementary School when a moment of silence was held at Oracle Park and at other sporting events.
“And we went on with our lives,” he said, as reported.
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“Players, staff and fans stood for the moment of silence, grieving the lives lost, and then we (myself included) continued to stand, proudly proclaiming ourselves the land of the free and the home of the brave. We didn’t stop to reflect on whether we are actually free and brave after this horrific event, we just stood at attention. When I was the same age as the children in Uvalde, my father taught me to stand for the pledge of allegiance when I believed my country was representing its people well or to protest and stay seated when it wasn’t. I don’t believe it is representing us well right now,” Kapler’s post said.
“But we weren’t given bravery, and we aren’t free. The police on the scene put a mother in handcuffs as she begged them to go in and save her children. They blocked parents trying to organize to charge in to stop the shooter, including a father who learned his daughter was murdered while he argued with the cops. We aren’t free when politicians decide that the lobbyist and gun industries are more important than our children’s freedom to go to school without needing bulletproof backpacks and active shooter drills,” said Kapler.
He also said that sports leagues are linking the moment of silence and grief with “the equally thoughtless display of celebration for a country that refuses to take up the concept of controlling the sale of weapons used nearly exclusively for the mass slaughter of human beings.”
“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,” he added.
“But I am not okay with the state of this country. I wish I hadn’t let my discomfort compromise my integrity. I wish that I could have demonstrated what I learned from my dad, that when you’re dissatisfied with your country, you let it be known through protest. The home of the brave should encourage this,” Kapler explained.
This story syndicated with permission from Frank at Crankers.com
