San Fransico Giants pitcher Sam Coonrod created quite a stir in the baseball community after he didn’t kneel during the National Anthem for Black Lives Matter. Coonrod cited his strong Christian faith was the reason.<\/p>\n
“I meant no ill will by it,” he said. “I don’t think I’m better than anybody. I’m just a Christian. I believe I can’t kneel before anything but God, Jesus Christ. I chose not to kneel. I feel if I did kneel I’d be a hypocrite. I don’t want to be a hypocrite.”<\/p>\n
During Thursday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Coonrod became the only player on both teams who did not kneel. He did, however, join them when holding a black ribbon which represented unity.<\/p>\n
According to TMZ Sports, Coonrod said, “I just can’t get on board with a couple of things I’ve read about Black Lives Matter, how they lean towards Marxism … They said some negative things about the nuclear family. I just can’t get on board with that.”<\/p>\n
Giants manager Gabe Kapler expressed that he supported Coonrod’s choice to stay standing, even though he himself kneeled.<\/p>\n
“We were going to let people express themselves,” Kapler explained. “We were going to give them the choice on whether they were going to stand, kneel, or do something else.”<\/p>\n
As expected, Coonrod got backlash online for his inaction. Coonrod is taking it in stride, though, and asking for respect.<\/p>\n
“People get mad whenever someone disagrees,” Coonrod continued. “I’m not mad at someone who decided to kneel. I just don’t think it’s too much to ask that I just get the same respect.”<\/p>\n