After Giancarlo Stanton knelt during the national anthem before the second game of the Yankees’ season, the slugger said he intended to keep up the protest throughout the season.
He did so again before Saturday night’s game against the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium.
Stanton was joined by Aaron Hicks the first time, with the pair saying they were protesting racial inequality. Hicks was out of the lineup Saturday and not on the field before the game.
Explaining his decision on July 25 in Washington, D.C., Stanton said he took a knee “just to show that we’re still in this fight. [I] just wanted to reiterate that it can’t be lost. It’s important to keep this movement forward with a simple message, [then] go out and play. I thought it was the right thing to do.”
Saturday was the first time Stanton or any other Yankee did so again.
“A lot of my teammates haven’t experienced some of the things that I have,’’ Stanton said last weekend. “Some have. [I] just give them a little insight on the daily lives that we’ve gone through growing up. I would say it’s a little different now because we’re popular, more aware but at the same time, you can’t forget how things got here.”
Stanton also added he wanted to “take the heat” going forward — and not his teammates.
