One MLB Team Will No Longer Be Permitted to Kneel During the National Anthem

Madeline Leesman reporting for Townhall 

Members of the San Francisco Giants baseball team will be required to stand on the field during the National Anthem. This comes after the team’s previous manager expressed that he preferred kneeling during “The Star Spangled Banner.” 

As Townhall has covered, kneeling during the national anthem gained traction in 2020 during the Black Lives Matter riots. Reportedly, the Giants’ previous manager, Gabe Kapler, opted to kneel during the national anthem in the wake of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. Kapler was reportedly fired in 2023.

The team’s current manager, Bob Melvin, reportedly said that the decision to stand during the national anthem does not involve politics (via The Hill):

“It’s all about the perception that we’re ready to play,” said Melvin, per The Athletic. “That’s it. You want your team ready to play and I want the other team to notice it, too. It’s really as simple as that.”

The outlet also reported that the entire organization — down to the bat boys — have been required to follow suit, as seen at spring training games.

Two players for the team, Wilmer Flores and Austin Slater, have expressed their support for the idea in statements obtained by The Athletic. Flores said it forced the entire team to be “engaged,” while Slater said it helps players act like “a unit.”

In an interview with USA TODAY, Melvin doubled-down on his stance. 

“Look, we’re a new team here, we got some good players here,’’ Melvin said Friday, “it’s more about letting the other side know that we’re ready to play. I want guys out here ready to go. There’s a personality to that. 

“It has nothing to do with whatever happened in the past or whatever, it’s just something I embrace." 

Reportedly, Melvin applied the same rules when he was managing in Oakland and San Diego.