The San Francisco Giants baseball team, under new manager Bob Melvin, has implemented a rule requiring all players and staff in the dugout to stand for the national anthem as a display of unity and readiness for games.
This move contrasts with the previous manager Gabe Kapler’s actions, who had stopped standing during the anthem in response to national events.
“You want your team ready to play and I want the other team to notice it, too,” Melvin said. “It’s as simple as that. They’re embracing it.”
“I don’t plan on coming out for the anthem going forward until I feel better about the direction of our country,” Kapler said previously.
Melvin aims to shift the focus to winning games and team unity, distancing from past controversies.
“Look, we’re a new team here, we got some good players here,” Melvin said.
“It’s more about letting the other side know that we’re ready to play,” he added. “I want guys out here ready to go. There’s a personality to that. It has nothing to do with whatever happened in the past or whatever, it’s just something I embrace.”
The team’s first game of the season is scheduled for March 28 against the Padres in San Diego.