The MLB season starts on Thursday with two games, and then the rest of the league follows throughout the weekend. Big Bang Theory star Mayim Bialik is particularly excited for her beloved San Francisco Giants, especially after a recent demonstration. She expressed pride in the baseball franchise after the players kneeled during the national anthem.
Bialik posted a photo on Instagram showing five members of the Giants. Four kneeled — wearing masks — while placing their hands over their hearts. Another stood but bowed his head. “Two days until @mlb starts. Couldn’t be prouder of the West Coast team that has my 🧡🖤 @sfgiants #winners #patriots #giants,” Bialik wrote in the caption of her Instagram post.
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The Giants initially drew attention for kneeling before an exhibition game against the Oakland Athletics. Right fielder Jaylin Davis, who is Black, took a knee, as did first base coach Antoan Richardson. Shortstop Brandon Crawford stood between the two men and placed his hands on their shoulders. The Giants players and coaches had the freedom to kneel or stand during the national anthem, and manager Gabe Kapler said the team would support them no matter what they did.
“I wanted them to know that I wasn’t pleased with the way our country has handled police brutality, and I told them I wanted to amplify their voices and I wanted to amplify the voice of the Black community and marginalized communities as well,” Kapler said, per FOX News. “So I told them that I wanted to use my platform to demonstrate my dissatisfaction with the way we’ve handled racism in our country. I wanted to demonstrate my dissatisfaction with our clear systemic racism in our country, and I wanted them to know that they got to make their own decisions, and we would respect and support those decisions. I wanted them to feel safe in speaking up.”
Opinions were split after the demonstrations. Bialik expressed appreciation for the players kneeling while a former MLB player strongly disagreed. Aubrey Huff, who won two World Series with the Giants, responded to tweets about the demonstrations and drew considerable attention.
“I’m proud to not be invited to the San Francisco Giants 10 year World Series reunion. I’m Pro America,” Huff tweeted in response to footage of the demonstration. He also responded to the Giants’ account with the hashtag “AllLivesMatter.” Huff continued with a series of tweets criticizing the league and the Giants.
