Major League Baseball, the sport of Jackie Robinson and long ago a touchstone of civil rights, saw its first athlete join the movement started by Colin Kaepernick and inflamed this weekend by President Trump.
Oakland Athletics catcher Bruce Maxwell, who hinted at such an action earlier in the day, knelt during the national anthem before Saturday night's game against the Texas Rangers.
Maxwell, a 26-year-old catcher from Alabama, tweeted Saturday that in the wake of President Trump's comments Saturday night to "fire the sons of (expletives)" in the NFL who kneeled for the anthem, that "This now has gone from just a BlackLives Matter topic to just complete inequality of any man or woman that wants to stand for Their rights!"
This now has gone from just a BlackLives Matter topic to just complete inequality of any man or woman that wants to stand for Their rights!
— Bruce T Maxwell (@bruu_truu13) September 23, 2017
There was immediate support from his organization. Teammate Mark Canha kept a hand on Maxwell's shoulder as he engaged in his protest as the anthem played. And the A's sent out a message of support moments after it occurred.
— Oakland A's π³πβΎοΈ (@Athletics) September 24, 2017
From the @sfchronicle’s Santiago Mejia, here is A’s rookie Bruce Maxwell becoming the first MLB player to take a knee for the anthem: pic.twitter.com/q8QVY9hW15
— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) September 24, 2017