It’s always refreshing to see displays of patriotism, especially in times like these when so many denigrate our country.
Many professional sports teams and organizations have cowered to the Black Lives Matter crowd and chosen to kneel during the national anthem.
But not all!
As the New York Daily News reports, all members of the Mets and the Braves stood for the national anthem on opening day of baseball:
Every player on the Mets and Braves stood for the national anthem on Friday, as was mostly typical across baseball’s restart.
Players, coaches and staffers on the Nationals, Yankees, Dodgers and Giants all knelt (except for one) before the anthem on Thursday, then mostly stood for the actual anthem.
Players on the Mets and Braves did not kneel before the anthem at Citi Field.
A video of clips from players around the league was played on the Citi Field screen calling for fans and MLB to “acknowledge the pain of the Black community.” Dozens of players in the video said “Black Lives Matter,” which was absent from the Morgan Freeman-read, Andrew McCutchen-written speech that players knelt during Thursday night.
While audio from that speech played, Mets and Braves players stood along the foul lines holding the league-provided black cloth. They all remained standing for the performance of the national anthem, delivered virtually by New York-area essential workers.
Mets first baseman Dom Smith, a Black player from Los Angeles, told SNY earlier this week that kneeling was low on his list of priorities.
Compare this to the Yankees decision to completely kneel for the anthem:
Check out responses on Twitter to the Mets and Braves' decision:
At least we now know which teams stand for America and which would side with radical BLM!
Meanwhile, Fox News reports the famous baseball player Mike Piazza stated that he does not believe in kneeling for the national anthem:
Baseball legend Mike Piazza told Fox News on Saturday that while he believed in the freedom to protest when the national anthem is played at games, he personally believed in standing for the song.
"I think sports was always that last part of separate politics and when I was young, they would always say don't get involved in politics because you're going to alienate half your fans and I think look, but I also believe in freedom and I believe that if I don't want to stand, I don't want to stand, and if people want to kneel, they can kneel. They can do that and you will suffer the criticisms that come with that," Piazza said on "Cavuto Live."
"I personally believe in standing for the national anthem, that's the way I was taught and that's what I believe. If you want to kneel for the cause, then you have the freedom to do that, but I also believe again that it's about freedom and if guys want to do that, fine. It's something but it's just something I'm responsible for myself."
Piazza's comments come as the debate over kneeling during the anthem has returned as the U.S. has experienced months of protest about systemic racism in the wake of George Floyd's death.
During the MLB season opener between the Yankees and Nationals on Thursday, a long line of players from both teams kneeled before the anthem played.
President Trump, who has vehemently opposed the protests, will potentially throw the first pitch at Yankee Stadium in August. “It’s great that baseball is back, and other sports are back," Trump told "Hannity" on Thursday. "I hope everyone’s standing; I hope they’re not going to be kneeling when the flag is raised. I don’t like to see that."
Join the conversation!
Please share your thoughts about this article below. We value your opinions, and would love to see you add to the discussion!