Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell is in full support of any players within the organization who choose to exercise their right to protest.
The Boston Red Sox and John Farrell are standing behind the player’s right and decision to protest in order to try and unify the organization during a time where it is easy to become divided. Farrell was asked to comment on player protests one day after Bruce Maxwell, of the Oakland Athletics, decided to kneel during the national anthem.
"“If they were to choose to express themselves in the way we’ve seen other athletes in other sports, we would fully support them,” Farrell stated. “We strive to create an environment that’s inclusive. We would have their back as an organization if that’s the expression they chose to do; it’s their constitutional right. There’s a lot of division that is currently in the forefront of a lot of people’s mind, and the more united we can become, that is a goal of all of us.”"
Maxwell was the first player in Major League Baseball to protest and will likely not be the last. Player protests are extremely prominent in the National Football League and in various Soccer leagues but it took some time before anyone in baseball decided to stand up (or rather kneel) for their beliefs.
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Colin Kaepernick was the first professional athlete to protest against police violence towards African-Americans. His movement, kneeling during the anthem, began last year at the beginning of the football season. Since then, a number of NFL athletes have joined the protests and that number is growing.
Farrell added that he is not aware of any planned protests within the Red Sox clubhouse. He also said that meeting with the team and front office beforehand, like Maxwell did, was respectable.
Maxwell explained to reporters and to his own organization that he was “kneeling for the people that don’t have a voice.” Maxwell’s father was in the army and Maxwell was born in a United States military base.
“We’re not blinded by what goes on outside the ballpark,” Farrell stated. “We can live in a bubble at times. We pay close attention to what goes on in quote-unquote the real world.”
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While the country is divided, it is nice to see that the Boston Red Sox organization and its manager are supporting their players. They are presenting a united front and that unity may be the most important factor as these issues, discussions, and debates continue.