After weeks of delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Major League Baseball returned on Thursday night and every player took a knee in support of Black Lives Matter.
The move was a bold act of defiance of President Donald Trump, who has long complained about players taking a knee before professional sporting events to protest police brutality.
The kneeling at sports events was started by former San Francisco 49’ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in 2016 as a way to protest racial injustice.
Before the game, “BLM” was painted on the pitcher’s mound to show support for the BLM movement.
Both the New York Yankees and Washington Nationals wore “Black Lives Matter” warm-up jerseys.
Take a look:
Every player on the #Yankees and #Nationals takes a knee prior to the National Anthem. pic.twitter.com/kbYeanpusp
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) July 23, 2020
Every player and coach on the Yankees & Nationals took a knee before the national anthem tonight in D.C.
(via @MarkZuckerman)pic.twitter.com/PrPKv4Gs1Z
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 23, 2020