LEAGUES News
Waiter: A's Maxwell 'outright lying' about being refused service
Oakland Athletics catcher Bruce Maxwell recently claimed he was denied service by a pro-Trump waiter at an Alabama restaurant because of his stance against racial discrimination, but the server remembered things differently.
"He is outright lying. This is really upsetting as he was given full service, I didn’t even know who Bruce Maxwell was," 42-year-old waiter Matt Henry told Hollie McKay of FOX News. "This all started because I carded his friend who wanted to order a beer."
Henry claimed Maxwell was dining with councilman Devyn Keith and another individual who tried to order alcohol with expired identification. When Henry refused to serve him a drink, the friend apparently became upset and followed him into the kitchen.
"He asked me, 'Don’t you know who Bruce Maxwell is?' And told me I was making everyone feel uncomfortable. Nobody was even paying attention to them," Henry explained. "I didn’t know anything about him or the kneeling. All I know is a friend of mine 15 years ago lost his job for serving someone a drink who happened to be underage, so if anyone looks under 30, I’m going to card them."
The 26-year-old Maxwell is the only MLB player to kneel in protest during the national anthem in 2017. He told TMZ Sports the waiter said that after he found out it was Maxwell he was serving, he admitted to being a Trump voter who supports the president.
"He was like, 'You're the guy who took the knee? I voted for Trump and I stand for everything he stands for," Maxwell said.
Henry claimed they didn't even discuss Trump and is now demanding an apology from Maxwell.
"I would like a public apology from Mr. Bruce Maxwell," Henry told Renata Di Gregorio from Rockeycitynow.com. "And I would like one for all the folks I worked with. He represents Huntsville, Alabama, whether he likes it or not and we're not the kind of people who would do that kind of thing."