(This post may contain disputed claims. We make no assertions as to the validity of the information presented by our Opinion Columnist. We are an opinion blog, not a traditional news outlet, and this post should be treated as such. Enjoy.)San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Sam Coonrod was the only player who refused to take a knee during the national anthem Thursday, nor did he bow to the Black Lives Matter agenda. In fact, leftists are going nuts as the pitcher “took a stand” for America and blasted BLM by pointing out the glaring truth. You’ll love this.
San Francisco Giants pitcher Sam Coonrod refused to kneel during the national anthem Thursday night against the Dodgers.
According to NBC Sports, members of the Giants took a knee during the national anthem, and Coonrod didn’t join them. Every member of both teams also kneeled before the anthem. The pitcher also didn’t participate in that action. The reason why? His Christian faith.
“I’m a Christian, like I said, and I just can’t get on board with a couple of things that I have read about Black Lives Matter. How they lean towards Marxism and they’ve said some negative things about the nuclear family,” Coonrod said, according to NBC Sports Bay Area. “I just can’t get on board with that.”
The pitcher added that he didn’t make his decision against kneeling until very near the game and also did not discuss his intentions with his team.
He also said that he “can’t kneel before anything besides God.”
"I'm a Christian, like I said, and I just can't get on board with a couple of things that I have read about Black Lives Matter."
Sam Coonrod explains why he didn’t kneel during the Giants-Dodgers pregame moment of unity (via @PavlovicNBCS) https://t.co/7QI9fgjvvn pic.twitter.com/EZQgd8ZBho
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) July 24, 2020
Leftists on Twitter were quick to denounce him for standing during the anthem. One found a pic of the relief pitcher wearing a MAGA hat on July 4, which to them is a black mark.
“Make the Giants great again and lose this loser,” tweeted Clyde Farquarth.
Make the Giants great again and lose this loser.
— Clyde Farquarth (@ClydeFarquarth) July 24, 2020
“Honestly, this takes a hell of a lot of bravery on the part of Coonrod. No matter what you think about the national anthem debate, choosing to stand for your beliefs and doing it alone requires a lot of courage,” Daily Caller reporter David Holstaed said. “Every single player took a knee before the anthem and many didn’t stand while it was played. Coonrod didn’t take a knee for either.”
Giants manager Gabe Kapler said he supported Coonrod’s choice.
“The one thing that we said is we were going to let people express themselves,” Kapler said after the game. “We were going to give them the choice on whether they were going to stand, kneel, or do something else. That was a personal decision for Sam.”
Captioned “we are one,” the video of the demonstration posted to social media pointedly did not show Coonrod’s refusal to participate. However, it clearly shows the pitcher’s mound with “BLM” stenciled in:
"Today, we are one." pic.twitter.com/fqH8NkJm8A
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 24, 2020
It’s worth noting, that every single player on the Yankees and Nationals also took a knee prior to the anthem Thursday night.
It wasn’t at all an isolated incident. As we previously reported, this was the night the MLB lost whatever fans it had left.
“Players on both squads kneeled before the anthem ahead of the home opener for Washington. According to the Yankees, it was done ‘together in unity,’”Daily Caller reporter David Hookstead reports. “We’re weeks out from the NFL starting, and the MLB already has entire teams taking a knee. If you thought this was going away, I can promise you that it’s not.”
I really don’t understand why we have to make sports so political. I don’t get it at all. Americans are desperate to be unified and to have something to cheer for.
How does taking a knee during or before the national anthem help that? The answer is that it doesn’t. It just turns our sports into political talking points and debates.
It’s insanely stupid.
Major League Baseball isn’t done pandering to the hardcore leftists. They are also actively working with Black Lives Matter.
“The Nationals, in conjunction with Major League Baseball, stand with the Black Lives Matter movement and will utilize the platform and national stage of Opening Day to express support for the fight against systemic racism and injustice,” the team announced in a statement, according to ESPN.
Besides stenciling in “Black Lives Matter” into the mound during opening week, MLB has reportedly given every team the OK to emulate the Nationals Black Lives Matter activism.
It was also reported that the league told players that they have permission to put social justice slogans on their jerseys in place of their names.
Can you imagine the weight of the decision Giants pitcher Sam Coonrod had to make? Faced with the leftist cancel culture and knowing the MLB owners are all in with BLM, he could have just kneeled like every other player. It sure would have been the safe thing to do.
We are certain he thought about losing his career over refusing to kneel and literally taking a stand. Professional athletes have a very small window to make the big bucks. According to the stats, Coonrod made a mere $555,000 dollars in 2019. As far as baseball salaries go, that’s mediocre.
Coonrod decided his Christian faith and his love of America outweighed losing his job. The Giants could easily get rid of him. So, he is a very brave man and deserves respect from all Americans.
