SAN DIEGO (AP) – Several of Gabe Kapler’s fellow managers are offering their support for his decision to avoid the field during the national anthem as a protest following the school shootings in southwestern Texas.
San Francisco Giants manager Kapler said on Friday he doesn’t plan to be on the field for the anthem “until I feel better about the direction of our country. I don’t expect it to move the needle necessarily. It’s just something that I feel strongly enough about to take that step”.
One day after Kapler’s comments, no uniformed Giants were on the field for the anthem before the team’s 3-2 loss to the Reds.
Last Tuesday, 19 children and two teachers were killed at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
The attack occurred just 10 days after a gunman espousing racist hatred killed 10 Black people at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York.
Texas Rangers manager Chris Woodward said Kapler’s action was “brave”. Woodward said, “I think we’re all frustrated, especially in this country.”
“Nobody’s happy. It’s not about which side you’re on. It’s just we’ve got to get better as a society… I’m not going to really make comment either way on whether I would or wouldn’t do what he did.”
Boston Red Sox manger Alex Cora said Kapler, his former teammate, has been vocal about several subjects and “for that, I’m proud of him”.
