MLB 2020: Yankees, Nationals players and coaches kneel BEFORE national anthem, Internet says ‘in your face Trump’

Major League Baseball is finally back after being delayed for three months due to the novel coronavirus. The July 23 opener saw Washington Nationals and New York Yankees come together for a gesture that has overwhelmed many. Before the anthem was played, all the players from both the teams, along with the coaches, took a knee for nearly 20 seconds to show their support for the Black Lives Matter movement. 

Media personality Mark Zuckerman shared a video on his Twitter handle, showing the Nationals and Yankees kneeling in a long row around the field with their hands clutching a black cloth before the pre-recorded rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner was played. Zuckerman wrote, “Everybody on both teams took a knee prior to the anthem. Then stood for the anthem.”

Fans of MLB and other Internet users quickly took to Twitter to praise the players for showing their support to a cause that many have been fighting for, for ages. Many lauded the players for standing before the national anthem and not when it was being played, conveying the message the right way. One tweeted, “How ‘bout if they kneel BEFORE the anthem? WAY TO GO, YANKEES AND NATIONALS!!” Another added, “f we're talking about tonight's MLB return, just for the record, the Yankees and Nationals did NOT kneel.during the anthem. They kneeled before the anthem was played. They all stood for the anthem. Not like the b**ch azz @Dodgers and @SFGiants”.

And the Internet users have tagged Trump in several posts, telling him that even the MLB players are now standing defiant against his administration. Although the president invited former baseball pitcher Mariano Rivera to White House to mark the opening of the season, it seems the players have made their stance clear. 

When one user wrote, “NOW THAT'S HOW YOU DO IT!!!!!!!!!! way to go @Nationals & @Yankees you can honor whatever your cause is and still honor our country appropriately!” Another added, “Yankees and National coaches and players kneel (before the national anthem) in solidarity with #BlackLivesMatter. In Your Face Trump.” One Twitter user asked Trump, “But the Yankees and the Nationals all kneeled. What are you going to do now? Go back on your word of being done with a team that kneels?”

The baseball season took off on July 23 with no fans in the audience amid safety concerns over Covid-19 pandemic.