Sam Coonrod says he was the only player not to kneel during the pregame moment of unity because he’s a Christian. “I believe I can't kneel before anything but God, Jesus Christ,” he said.
Maybe you need a refresher on Christianity
Every player and staff member from four MLB teams took a knee before last night’s opening slate of games to make a statement about inequality. Every single one of them—except Giants reliever Sam Coonrod.
The moment was not a protest. It was a carefully constructed display coordinated and approved by Major League Baseball. A recorded, uncontroversial message from Morgan Freeman played over the stadium PA system as the players kneeled and held a black ribbon. (Phillies outfielder Andrew McCutchen came up with the idea.)
It was as provocative as you would expect a corporately sanctioned statement to be. The Freeman narration did not mention “police” or even the phrase “Black Lives Matter.” No one could reasonably object to the call for equality expressed by Freeman in the clip, but that didn’t stop Coonrod.
Coonrod was the only player on either the Yankees, Nationals, Dodgers or Giants to stay on his feet while everyone else knelt. He stood out like a sore thumb.
Asked to explain himself after the game, Coonrod hid behind his religion.
“I meant no ill will by it,” Coonrod told reporters. “I don't think I’m better than anybody. I’m just a Christian. I believe I can’t kneel before anything but God, Jesus Christ. I chose not to kneel. I feel if I did kneel I'd be a hypocrite. I don’t want to be a hypocrite.”
I don’t go to church much anymore, but I’m pretty sure the central tenets of Christianity are aiding those less fortunate than you and treating others with love and respect. Claiming to be a Christian to explain not joining your colleagues in a call to treat others with love and respect sounds pretty hypocritical.
But Coonrod also said he took issue with the substance of the statement.
“I can't get on board on a couple of things I’ve read about Black Lives Matter, how they lean toward Marxism and said some negative things about the nuclear family,” he said.
Yes, the founders of the organization Black Lives Matter have referred to themselves as “trained Marxists,” a quote that has spread like wildfire in conservative circles in attempt to discredit them. But you have to be so incredibly obtuse to believe that everyone who says “Black lives matter” is endorsing the specific organization founded in 2013 called “Black Lives Matter.”
What makes Coonrod’s refusal to kneel particularly infuriating is that the display with the ribbon was meant to be an anodyne alternative to actual protest. If you’re one of those morons who still believes exercising your First Amendment rights by kneeling during the national anthem is somehow disrespectful to the military, kneeling during a Morgan Freeman speech gives you another way to show support with risking blowback. Only a handful of people (Mookie Betts, Gabe Kapler and Pablo Sandoval among them) were brave enough to actually kneel during the anthem.
Luckily for Coonrod, it doesn’t sound like his decision will drive a wedge in the clubhouse.
“The one thing we said is, we‘re going to let people express themselves,” manager Gabe Kapler told reporters. “We‘re going to give them the choice whether they stand, kneel or do something else. That was a personal decision for Sam.”
Do you want to know why Coonrod really chose not to kneel?
Kraken it is
It sounded like a joke when it first surfaced as a possibility, but the NHL’s newest franchise is actually going to be called the Seattle Kraken.
I ranked Kraken last when the ownership group trademarked 13 possible team names in 2018 and I’m still not crazy about it as a name. But at least the logos and jerseys are really cool. I especially like how the anchor logo looks like the Space Needle.
The best of SI
Stephanie Apstein reports from on the ground in Washington on the start of pandemic baseball. ... Tom Verducci wrote an essay about the return of baseball. ... Inside the first games played within the NBA bubble.
Around the sports world
Faculty at the University of Kentucky are calling for the school to remove the name of racist Adolph Rupp from its basketball arena. ... Roy Williams donated $600,000 to fund scholarships for UNC seniors who had their spring sports seasons cut short. ... Mike Francesa is retiring again from his WFAN gig.
People still can’t stand ESPN’s baseball broadcasts
There’s honestly a chance this derails the whole baseball season
Things are moving forward
LeBron isn’t a fan
Oof!
This is more distracting and more unnerving than empty seats
How many of Fox’s fake fans are going to be Paul?
Some things never change
The jumbotron graphics might need updating
Recruiting in 2020
The mics in the bubble are gonna pick up so much of this
I have less than zero interest in this
Not sports
Creative scammers tried to defraud a tech company by using an audio deepfake of the CEO’s voice. ... Police in Taiwan returned a missing Nintendo Switch by using the game Animal Crossing. ... Tom Cruise might be filming a movie in outer space.
Our neighbors couldn’t be farther apart
A good song
Email dan.gartland@si.com with any feedback or follow me on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.