Gabe Kapler, manager of the San Francisco Giants, cited as the reason for his change the deaths of 19 children and two adults in the Robb Elementary school shooting in Uvalde (Texas), on March 19, 2017.
Gabe Kapler takes a stand.
46-year-old San Francisco Giants manager said to reporters on Friday that he doesn't plan on singing the National Anthem of the United States on the field in the near future.
Kapler stated, in video footage shared with ESPN that "I don’t plan on coming out to the anthem going forward unless I feel better about our country's direction," as Kapler explained. "I don’t expect it will move the needle necessarily. It's just something I feel strongly about to make that step."
Kapler wrote a blog post the same day in which he explained his decision. He cited the deaths of 19 children and 2 adults at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde (Texas) as the reason for his change.
Kapler asked whether America is truly "the land of freedom and the home for the brave", and he replied, "We weren’t given bravery, but we aren’t free."
Kapler criticised those in power by pointing out instances in the mass shooting when "police on scene put a mom in handcuffs while she begged them for help" and how authorities "blocked parents organizing to charge in to stop a shooter," Kapler said.
He wrote that "we aren't in control when politicians decide the lobbyist and gun industry are more important than our kids' freedom to go school without having to use bulletproof backpacks or active shooter drills."
Kapler said, "I am often struck by our games' inability to deliver the promise of our National Anthem." We stand in honor of a nation where we elect representatives to represent us. To thoughtfully consider and pass legislation that protects all the citizens of this country and moves this country towards the vision of the "shining city upon the hill", "
"But instead," he said, "we thoughtlessly connect our moment of silence & grief with the equally thoughtless celebration for a nation that refuses the concept of controlling weapons sales used almost exclusively for mass killing of human beings."
