Giants' Kapler won't take field for national anthem after Uvalde shooting

San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler said he won't stand on the field for the national anthem following the shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that claimed the lives of 19 children and two teachers Tuesday.

"I don't plan on coming out for the anthem going forward until I feel better about the direction of our country," Kapler said Friday, according to NBC Sports.

"That'll be the step. I don't expect it to move the needle necessarily. It's just something that I feel strongly enough about to take that step."

Kapler's comments followed a post on his personal blog earlier Friday in which he questioned why he and others stood for the national anthem prior to the Giants' game Tuesday:

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. On Wednesday, I walked out onto the field, I listened to the announcement as we honored the victims in Uvalde. I bowed my head. I stood for the national anthem. Metallica riffed on City Connect guitars.

My brain said, 'Drop to a knee.' My body didn’t listen. I wanted to walk back inside; instead, I froze. I felt like a coward. I didn't want to call attention to myself. I didn't want to take away from the victims or their families. There was a baseball game, a rock band, the lights, the pageantry. I knew that thousands of people were using this game to escape the horrors of the world for just a little bit. I knew that thousands more wouldn’t understand the gesture and would take it as an offense to the military, to veterans, to themselves.

Kapler and several Giants players took a knee during the national anthem in 2020 in protest of racial injustice.