NEW YORK – Aaron Judge knows San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler took a knee along with several of his players, and the New York Yankees star wants to talk with his teammates about whether they want to make a gesture against racial injustice before Major League Baseball’s season opener.
“That’s the beauty of America, is freedom of speech and freedom to express yourself,” Judge said Tuesday. “We’ve got a special platform being athletes and being able to speak our mind and speak what’s going on in this world. Some people express it online. Some people express it with words. Some people kneel.”
Kapler and his team made the gestures before Monday night’s exhibition game against the Oakland Athletics. Judge and the Yankees open the pandemic-delayed season Thursday night with a visit to the Washington Nationals, the 2019 World Series champions.
“I think whatever message that we try to give out here is we want to try to express unity and that we’re all in this together,” Judge said. “Try to have those uncomfortable conversations that we need to have and bring up those uncomfortable talking points.”
New York manager Aaron Boone and his players plan to discuss the matter more after they travel to Washington on Wednesday.