CALLING BALLS & STRIKES

Tony La Russa Calls S.F. Giants Manager’s Anthem Boycott ‘Inappropriate’

The Hall of Fame manager said Gabe Kapler’s decision to protest in the wake of Uvalde wasn’t “appropriate.”

Chicago White Sox manager Tony La Russa blasted San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler’s decision to protest the national anthem in the wake of the deadly Uvalde mass shooting, claiming the anthem and flag were “not appropriate places to try to voice your objection.” Instead, the Hall of Fame manager said, “I think you go directly to what the cause that really bothers you about the direction of the country is. So to me, it isn’t the flag and the anthem. I think it makes more sense to figure out which of those issues and speak about the ones he didn't like and what he will do about it.” Kapler announced Friday he would skip the pre-game anthem “until I feel better about the direction of our country” after a gunman killed 19 schoolchildren and two teachers last week in Texas. On Sunday, however, Kapler said he may temporarily suspend his boycott on Monday in observance of Memorial Day. According to Kapler, who has long been outspoken in his political views, the U.S. does not currently represent the final line of its anthem as “the land of the free and the home of the brave.”