Bruce Maxwell, a catcher for the Oakland Athletics, took a knee on Saturday during the Star Spangled Banner.
Maxwell is decidedly patriotic and comes from a military family. His agent, Matt Sosnick, told The Associated Press that “the Maxwells’ love and appreciation for our country is indisputable.”
“Bruce has made it clear that he is taking a stand about what he perceives as racial injustices in this country, and his personal disappointment with President Trump’s response to a number of professional athletes’ totally peaceful, non-violent protests.
“Bruce has shared with both me and his teammates that his feelings have nothing to do with a lack of patriotism or a hatred of any man, but rather everything to do with equality for men, women and children regardless of race or religion.”
I try to be a free speech absolutist. I often disagree with protests, but I do not want any voices shut down. The person who really needs to be a free speech absolutist is the president of the United States, and too often that’s not true. Elected officials should always stand on the side of freedom, even if that position is unpopular.
I am proud of Mr. Maxwell for standing up to the state, the entity that is supposed to protect his ability to protest.
from baseballmusings.com http://ift.tt/2yzJQUw
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