Athletics' Bruce Maxwell Still Getting Blowback From Taking a Knee to Protest Racism in 2017

Former Oakland Athletics catcher Bruce Maxwell, taking part in a panel discussion of racism Tuesday, said he continues to get angry messages over the his protest against racism and police brutality.

Tune into any news cast these days and odds are good there will be video of someone taking a knee.

Protesters are doing it in the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of the Minneapolis police a week ago Monday. Police and members of the National Guard are doing it occasionally.

The 49ers’ Colin Kaepernick had made taking a knee during the National Anthem a thing during the 2016 NFL season, his way to protest against police brutality and racism.

On Sept. 23, 2017 Oakland A’s catcher Bruce Maxwell became the first, and four years later, only Major League Baseball to follow suit, taking a knee at the Oakland Coliseum before a game against the Texas Rangers.

His teammates generally supported him, although none of them went as far as taking a knee. Teammate Mark Canha stood next to Maxwell with a hand on his shoulder.

The A’s as an organization offered support, too, saying “the Oakland A’s pride ourselves on being inclusive. We respect and support all of our players constitutional rights and freedom of expression.”

The A’s fan base supported Maxwell, too. Maxwell wasn’t in the lineup and didn’t get into the game Sept. 23, but he received a standing ovation for his first at-bat after his anthem protest on Sept. 25.

After the Sept. 23 game, Maxwell told media covering the game, “the point of my kneeling was not to disrespect our military or our constitution or our country. My hand was over my heart because I love this country and I have family members, including my father, who bled for this country, and who continue to serve.”

Maxwell, born in Germany while his father was stationed there with the U.S. Army, said he remains fiercely devoted to the U.S.

“At the end of the day, this is the best country on the planet. I am and forever will be an American citizen and grateful to be here, but my kneeling is what’s getting the attention, and I’m kneeling for the people who don’t have a voice.”

Since then, however, Maxwell has paid a price for his stance, even as the ongoing George Floyd protests have underscore than the need for knees bent in protest remains strong.

The veteran catcher, who will be playing ball in Mexico when baseball starts up there, probably in August, took part Tuesday in a panel discussion called “Race in America: A Candid Conversation,” hosted by NBC Sports Bay Area.

He was candid when asked about the blowback he got from taking that knee.

“I still have the messages,” he said. “I had a kid the other day come out on my team and just said, `Eff you,’ on my Instagram. He was like, `People like you are the problem that we have in this country.’ I had a guy reach out to me last year ... in the middle of my season, down here in Mexico, that told me that he hopes me and my family die a horrible death.

“Three years and I still get it. It's the hate. It's the hate.”

Maxwell last played in the big leagues in 2018, getting into 18 games before becoming a free agent at season’s end. It didn’t help his cause that five weeks after taking a knee he was arrested in suburban Phoenix after allegedly pointing a gun at a food deliverer. That July he pled guilty to disorderly conduct and sentenced to two years’ probation.

Baseball insiders say owners were less concerned about the arrest than about the taking of the knee.

When MLB didn’t call, he moved to Mexico and last year was a Mexican League All-Star with a slash line of .325/.497/.559 with 24 homers and 112 RBI in 109 games with Acereros de Monclova.

On Tuesday he said he’d like another big league shot, but he is concerned for MLB beyond whether or not he’s there. Little progress hasn’t been made since he took that knee.

“Nobody wants to see the message,” he says. “All they see is who's doing the stance. It's difficult to comprehend. It's sometimes difficult to stay on that path, but at the same time, it makes it worth the fight because these things need to happen for change to commence in the world that we live in.”

Meanwhile, he’s relived his own experiences while following the George Floyd death protests and shares many of the same emotions as everyone else.

“I have so many raw emotions about this,” he says. “All I can see is everybody, including George Floyd, I can see everything that came before him. I see Breonna Taylor (an African-American EMT shot in her bed in Louisville on March 13) sleeping in her bed peacefully. I see everything. And it's so many ways to feel and you can't really put it into words.”

Follow Athletics insider John Hickey on Twitter: @JHickey3

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