The only MLB player to take a knee during the national anthem is having trouble finding work
Bruce Maxwell became the first Major League Baseball player to join Colin Kaepernick’s protest and take a knee during the national anthem in 2017. A year later, the 27-year-old is struggling to find a job, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Maxwell took a knee toward the end of the season in 2017. He explained to Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan why he made that decision.
During the 2017 offseason, Maxwell was arrested after pointing a gun at a food delivery person during the offseason. He was arrested for aggravated assault and disorderly conduct.
However, one MLB executive told Slusser it would be the kneeling, and not the arrest, that would keep Maxwell, now a free agent, from getting a job this offseason.
“It’s the kneeling thing that might keep him from getting another job, not the arrest,” one major-league executive told The Chronicle as the winter meetings concluded Thursday. “Owners aren’t going to want to deal with that whole anthem issue.”
Maxwell did not kneel during the national anthem in 2018.
Another source said a combination of both things were keeping teams from signing Maxwell, according to Slusser.
“This is not a Colin Kaepernick situation,” said one industry source, referring to the former 49ers quarterback’s inability to find an NFL job after choosing to kneel for the anthem. “This is if Colin Kaepernick had knelt for the anthem and also been arrested for a gun crime.”
After not getting much interest on the free-agent market, Maxwell fired his agent Thursday.
In 412 plate appearances in the majors, Maxwell has hit .240/.314/347.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
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