Gabe Kapler to refuse National Anthem to protest ‘direction of our country’ (Video)

San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler revealed that he is not going to be present of the national anthem due to the “direction of our country.”

Earlier on Friday, May 27, San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler penned a letter discussing the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 children and two teachers were killed by an 18-year-old gunman who had an AR-15 assault rifle.

Ahead of the team’s game against the Cincinnati Reds, Kapler told reporters that he will no longer come out for the national anthem until he feels better about “the direction of our country.” You can listen to Kapler’s comments in SF Giants on NBC Sports’ official Twitter account.

Gabe Kapler reveals he will no longer come out for national anthem ahead of games

“I don’t plan on coming out for the national anthem going forward until I feel better about the direction of our country,” said Kapler. “That’ll be the step. I don’t expect it to move the needle necessarily, it’s just something I feel strongly enough about to take that step.”

Kapler detailed how he felt during the playing of the national anthem earlier this week after the stadium played a tribute to the victims of the tragedy in Uvalde in his letter titled “Home of the Brave?” on his website Kaplifestyle.

"“My brain said drop to a knee; my body didn’t listen. I wanted to walk back inside; instead I froze. I felt like a coward. I didn’t want to call attention to myself. I didn’t want to take away from the victims or their families. There was a baseball game, a rock band, the lights, the pageantry. I knew that thousands of people were using this game to escape the horrors of the world for just a little bit. I knew that thousands more wouldn’t understand the gesture and would take it as an offense to the military, to veterans, to themselves.“But I am not okay with the state of this country. I wish I hadn’t let my discomfort compromise my integrity. I wish that I could have demonstrated what I learned from my dad, that when you’re dissatisfied with your country, you let it be known through protest. The home of the brave should encourage this.”"

The Giants manager then revealed why he wrote the letter when asked by a reporter ahead of Friday, May 27’s game against the Cincinnati Reds.

“Sometimes it takes me a couple of days to put everything together,” said Kapler. “I knew that I was not in my best space mentally and I knew that it was in connection with some of the hypocrisies for the national anthem and how it coincided with the moment of silence and how two things didn’t synch up well for me, but I couldn’t make sense of it in real time and it took me a couple of days to pull all my thoughts together.”

The tragic loss of life in Uvalde comes less than two weeks after an 18-year-old shot and killed 10 people in a racist attack at a supermarket in Buffalo, N.Y.

Following the latest act of gun violence that resulted in the loss of 19 children and two teachers, those in the sports world have used their platforms to raise awareness and that change must and has to happen for the betterment of the country.