Three days after announcing he will no longer stand on the field for the playing of the national anthem in an act of peaceful protest, Giants manager Gabe Kapler said he will temporarily suspend his protest ahead of his team's Memorial Day game in Philadelphia against the Phillies.
In a blog post written Monday, Kapler said he will stand for the anthem and explained that in doing so, he wants to honor "those who have paid the ultimate price for our rights and freedoms."
"While I believe strongly in the right to protest and the importance of doing so, I also believe strongly in honoring and mourning our country's service men and women who fought and died for that right," Kapler wrote. "Those who serve in our military, and especially those who have paid the ultimate price for our rights and freedoms, deserve that acknowledgment and respect, and I am honored to stand on the line today to show mine."
Kapler also announced he plans to donate to two organizations, Everytown, an organization dedicated to ending gun violence and Heart & Armor, an organization devoted to veteran health and linking the experience of veterans to civilians.
In a blog post he wrote Friday, Kapler explained he considered taking a knee during the playing of the national anthem on Tuesday before the Giants played the Mets in the wake of the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, this week that left 19 children and two teachers dead.
Kapler said he would not report to the field for the playing of the anthem, "Until I feel better about the direction of our country."
"Every time I place my hand over my heart and remove my hat, I'm participating in a self congratulatory glorification of the ONLY country where these mass shootings take place," Kapler wrote Friday morning.
Kapler was one of a handful in Major League Baseball to take a knee during the playing of the national anthem during the 2020 season, explaining to reporters he "wanted to use my platform to demonstrate my dissatisfaction with the way we've handled racism in our country."
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