The Giants and A’s faced off in a Bay Area exhibition matchup last night in Oakland, but the news this morning is squarely focused on what happened prior to the game.

Giants manager Gabe Kapler, along with a handful of his players and coaches, took a knee during the national anthem.

A look at the scene:

Here’s another look:

In doing so, Kapler, 44, became the first Major League Baseball manager to take a knee prior to the anthem. Per multiple reports, he was joined by OF Jaylin Davis, coach Antoan Richardson, OF Austin Slater and OF Mike Yastrzemski.


Following the game, Kapler explained his reasoning for the move:

I wanted them to know that I wasn’t pleased with the way our country has handled police brutality and I told them I wanted to amplify their voices and I wanted to amplify the voice of the Black community and marginalized communities as well. So I told them that I wanted to use my platform to demonstrate my dissatisfaction with the way we’ve handled racism in our country. I wanted to demonstrate my dissatisfaction with our clear systemic racism in our country and I wanted them to know that they got to make their own decisions and we would respect and support those decisions. I wanted them to feel safe in speaking up.

You can watch Kapler fully explain the decision and what went into it:

Former A’s catcher Bruce Maxwell, who was the first MLB player to take a knee prior to a game back in 2017, applauded Kapler and the Giants in this USA Today exclusive.

“If I was there, I would give Kapler a big hug, shake his hand, and tell him I’m honored to be next to him,” he said. “That was a big step. For somebody in that position, to put his title aside, to make himself vulnerable in that situation and stand for what is right, is big for humanity.”

Elsewhere around the league, Los Angeles Angels pitcher Keynan Middleton also knelt during the anthem: