He told the newspaper, “It all comes down to the perception that we’re out there ready to play.” “That concludes it. I want the opposing team to see that your team is prepared for play as much as you do. That’s really all there is to it.”
Although Melvin has insisted that his rule is unrelated to politics, there is a clear difference between it and Gabe Kapler’s administration.
Following the school shootings in Uvalde, Texas, in 2022, Kapler—who managed the Giants from 2020 until almost the end of the 2023 season—refused to stand for the playing of the national anthem on the field. There was “no wrong answer” when it came to how the athletes responded to the national anthem, per The Athletic.
