Los Angeles Dodgers: Dave Roberts not a fan of kneeling, falls victim to his own argument
By Jason Burke
On Saturday, A’s rookie backstop Bruce Maxwell took a knee during the National Anthem as a form of protest against some of the recent comments that the president made. On Sunday, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that he would have a problem with one of his own player’s taking a knee.
Educate yourself.
That is what Dave Roberts had to say about players kneeling for the anthem. Educate yourself about what you’re doing.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Bruce Maxwell said that the decision “had been coming for a long time.”
Roberts cited his own father’s 30 years of service for this country.
Maxwell told the Chronicle the following after Saturday’s game:
"“The point of my kneeling was not to disrespect our military or our constitution or our country,” Maxwell said. “My hand was over my heart because I love this country and I have family members, including my father, who bled for this country, and who continue to serve. At the end of the day, this is the best country on the planet. I am and forever will be an American citizen and grateful to be here, but my kneeling is what’s getting the attention, and I’m kneeling for the people who don’t have a voice."
Here’s the thing. Not everyone in this country has the same background, therefore not everyone has the same experiences on a day-to-day basis. Some are born into wealth while others struggle their whole lives just to get by. It’s these experiences that makes everyone unique, and if kneeling for one person doesn’t work for another, then that shouldn’t be a big issue. There is obviously a reason why athletes have been compelled to kneel, but instead of talking about the substance of the issues that they are attempting to bring up, we get fixated on other issues, like who is saying they would be cool with their players kneeling versus who wouldn’t and who should be offended by this act, if anybody.
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Before the president declared that those who knelt should be fired (which is highly illegal), it would be difficult to name a player other that Colin Kaepernick that had knelt for the anthem. Now the protests have bled into Major League Baseball, where Maxwell broke that line in being the first person to kneel.
On Sunday, numerous players knelt or locked arms, while the entire roster of the Pittsburgh Steelers stayed in the locker room during the anthem. The Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans followed suit from Nashville (per ESPN). In the Sunday night finale, Washington owner Dan Snyder was the latest owner to join the team on the field for their protest.
The dramatic rise in the number of players protesting this weekend came in large part due to the president’s tweets on the topic calling for action from the NFL or a boycott from the fans.
Next: Maxwell kneels for anthem
Maybe Dave Roberts can stand for a person of the highest office in the land calling for people that express their freedom of speech to lose their jobs, but maybe he should also educate himself a little more on what is really being protested, because literally nobody is protesting the flag or the military.