Oakland Athletics catcher Bruce Maxwell made headlines Saturday after he knelt during the National Anthem at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum.
Neither the Mets nor opponent Washington Nationals followed suit Sunday afternoon, a notion that New York’s manager Terry Collins is “proud of.”
“I’ve got to tell you, I’m not a big political guy, not by any stretch of the imagination,” Collins said before Sunday’s game . “But I respect – I have been blessed enough to travel the world – and I respect our country immensely. We do have rights here, which other places don’t. I respect that, also.”
Collins went on to say that he is glad his team stands and faces the flag day in and day out.
“Everybody’s allowed to have their own thoughts and certainly I don’t criticize anybody, I don’t do that stuff. But I’m happy that our guys do what they do,” Collins said.
Maxwell became the first professional baseball player to kneel, which many National Football League players also did Sunday in response to racial tension and intolerance throughout the country.
“The point of kneeling is not to disrespect our military. It’s not to disrespect our constitution. It’s not to disrespect our country. My hand was over my heart because I love this country,” Maxwell said Saturday night. “I’ve had plenty of family members, including my father, that have bled for this country, that continue to serve for this country. At the end of the day, this is the best country on the planet.
“My kneeling is what is getting the attention, because I’m kneeling for the people that don’t have a voice,” Maxwell continued. “This goes beyond the black community. This goes beyond the Hispanic community. Because right now, we’re having a racial divide in all types of people. It’s being practiced from the highest power that we have in this country, and he’s basically saying that it’s OK to treat people differently.”
