As NFL players choose to sit or kneel during the national anthem, some have wondered why we don’t see the same in Major League Baseball. One of the sport’s most prominent African American players, Adam Jones, has an answer.
The Baltimore Orioles center fielder spoke at length to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale about Colin Kaepernick’s protest, its meaning, and whether it could be replicated in Major League Baseball.
“We already have two strikes against us already, so you might as well not kick yourself out of the game,” Jones said. “In football, you can’t kick them out. You need those players. In baseball, they don’t need us. Baseball is a white man’s sport.”
While African Americans make up the majority of players in both the NFL and NBA, they account for only 8 percent of MLB players. As such, the sport is more conservative than its counterparts, and there could be even more severe backlash for a player who chose not to stand for the anthem.
Make no mistake, though. Jones is fully on board with Kaepernick and other NFL players who have chosen to protest.
“He believes in what he believes in, and as a man of faith, as an American who has rights, who am I to say he’s wrong?” Jones said. “Kaepernick is not disrespecting the military. He’s not disrespecting people who they’re fighting. What he’s doing is showing that he doesn’t like the social injustice that the flag represents.
“Look, I know a lot of people who don’t even know the words to the national anthem. You know how many times I see people stand up for the national anthem and not pay attention. They stand because they’re told to stand. That’s the problem. Just don’t do something because you’re told to do something. Do it because you understand the meaning behind it and the sacrifice behind it.”
Jones drew a contrast between former 49ers tight end Bruce Miller, who was charged with seven felonies after assaulting a 70-year-old man and his son. Miller has gotten significantly less attention than Kaepernick, though Kaepernick’s actions aren’t actually hurting anyone.
“He’s not receiving the ridicule and public torture that Kaepernick is facing,” Jones noted. “Is Kaepernick hurting me? No. Is he hurting random people out there? No. I support his decision. At the end of the day, if you don’t respect his freedoms, then why the hell are we Americans? It’s supposed to be the Land of the Free, right?”
Jones ultimately believes that fans want athletes to stick to sports and not share their views on social issues, but he doesn’t understand why that is.
“The outside world doesn’t really respect athletes unless they talk about what they want them to talk about,” Jones said. “Society doesn’t think we deserve the right to have an opinion on social issues.
“We make a lot of money, so we just have to talk baseball, talk football. But most athletes, especially if you’re tenured in your sport, you’re educated on life, and on more things than most people on the outside. But because Donald Trump is a billionaire, he can say whatever he wants, because he’s older and has more money? And when Kaepernick does something, or says something, he’s ridiculed. Why is that?”
Most Major Leaguers who have commented on the protests have had a negative opinion of them. It’s not a big surprise that Jones, based on his background, would have a very different view of things, and his comments are very worthy of consideration.
