BOSTON _ Orioles outfielder Adam Jones said he would never consider not standing for the national anthem before a game. His father spent 22 years in the Navy and his brother was also in the military, so he will always show respect to the flag and the anthem.
But as one of the most well-known African-American players in Major League Baseball, the five-time All-Star understands why San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has chosen not to stand for the anthem.
Kaepernick gained national attention after the 49ers' third preseason game on Aug. 26 when he sat for the anthem. He was asked about it after the game and spoke about racial injustice in the country and said he was supporting those who were oppressed. He has since kneeled, during the anthem, hopeful to not show disrespect to the troops. Other National Football League players have followed him, including at several season-opening games Sunday. Athletes in other sports have joined in, but none from baseball.
"I stand for that for multiple reasons. ... I stand for more than one reason than just that," Jones said Monday before the Orioles played the Red Sox. "The American flag and national anthem and all that, when you dig deeper, that part of it is not why I [decide to] stand. But also I stand for something different than the anthem.
"We are Americans. Our First Amendment right. When we speak out, we get backlash. I thought we had the First Amendment. So, I am using my First Amendment [right] and I'm using it in a respectful manner. I just hope people educate themselves on the process. This is a long process."
Jones, 31, didn't hold back in a USA Today story Monday in which he said that baseball hasn't seen players protesting the anthem because baseball "is a white man's sport" that consists of just 8 percent African-American players.
"Of course, and as I said, the headline grabbed strong attention," Jones said. "People just are thinking, 'Let's just see the article [and] what Adam's going to talk about.' They're going to say, 'Oh, Adam [is a] black man talking about white people. Let's see where this is going.'
"It already altered people's minds. There's nothing about me racist. I just stated the simple fact. Baseball is numbers. It's 8 percent black. I didn't make that up. In football, basketball, the numbers are in the 60s and 70s. These aren't made up numbers. It just is what it is. I'm part of the 8 percent."
Jones has been very active in the Baltimore community, spending almost his entire eight-year Orioles career donating time and money to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Baltimore and working with MLB's Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities program. Last week, he was named the Orioles' representative for the annual Roberto Clemente Award, given to the MLB player who "best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual's contribution to his team."
"At the end of the day, I'm one of the most well-known black players in baseball," Jones said. "There's what 58, 59 of us and I'm one of the most known. For me, it was the right time and I know all those guys have spoken up about it at some point and time.
"My biggest thing about it is that society doesn't mind us helping out the hood and the inner cities, but they have a problem when we speak about the hood and the inner cities. I don't know understand that part."
Jones said that he's received a lot of positive feedback around the game for his comments, but expects continued backlash.
"You guys have been around me and seen me evolve as a man, husband, player father, you know I'm not just speaking out of the side of my neck just because I have forum," Jones said. "I'm doing it because I understand. ... There's going to be backlash, of course there is. Because people don't like the truth, I just gave the truth."
