Maxwell: Man once threatened to hang me, dad at baseball tournament

Oakland Athletics catcher Bruce Maxwell, who dropped to one knee during the national anthem in two games over the weekend, said a man in the stands threatened to hang him and his father following a baseball tournament in Cullman, Ala., when he was just shy of 10 years old.

"We won the tournament," Maxwell told Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, "and a man stood up in the stands. And he threatened to hang me and my dad."

Maxwell, one of roughly 60 African-American players in the majors according to Passan, was the first baseball player to kneel during the anthem as a form of peaceful protest. He's since received support from teammates, Oakland's front office, and many others around the league.

He also said he's received threats since taking a knee from people who disagree with his actions, most of which involve racial slurs.

Before kneeling, Maxwell had challenged Donald Trump's remarks about NFL players who protest during the anthem in an Instagram post. Maxwell, who comes from a U.S. military family, told Passan the president should be more understanding of a person's civil rights and freedom to express themselves.

"This is beyond race," Maxwell said. "This is about our president speaking out in a vulgar, negative way against people exercising their rights in a peaceful manner. It’s about mankind. To call people who are peacefully protesting sons of bitches? He feels like he’s untouchable. We’re not dogs. We’re not animals. We’re people. And people in this country need to understand that we are not going to sit around and let a man call us that, no matter how powerful he is."