Episode 18: Taking a Knee and More Clinchmas
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Jen, Sarah and Mary discuss articles from the week of Sept. 18. They also discuss Bruce Maxwell’s protest against police brutality and racial injustice by kneeling during the national anthem at an Oakland A’s home game.
On the Clinchmas side, they are joined by Deadspin night editor and Cleveland fan Emma Baccellieri, who discusses the Cleveland Indians and its postseason chances, and FanRag MLB and Baseball Prospectus author Kate Morrison, who discusses the Houston Astros and its postseason chances.
Other topics include MLB’s record setting home run record in a single season and the chatter around expanding netting at ballparks.
Subscribe to THT Audio on iTunes here. Intro/outro music courtesy of Bensound.com.
Myself. On taking a knee. Rather see folks standing up for something. The act of kneeling represents non participation. We need people to participate in the dismantling of a system that brutalizes and demeans a large cross section of its citizens. A case in point would be the “Water Protectors” of North Dakota… these people are heroes, unlike those taking a knee.
Hey there, thanks for weighing in. I think there’s a different way to characterize the act of kneeling. Professional athletes have enormous platforms, and by doing something disruptive like kneeling for the anthem, they’ve been able to draw attention to/start a lot of conversations about the issue of systemic inequality. Heck, for better or worse, it got the attention of the President.
That alone is not enough, of course. But real change is effected not through any one method, but rather through a variety of methods big and small. Kneeling protests are just a part of that.