Cincinnati Reds players Joey Votto, Amir Garrett, Phillip Ervin and Alex Blandino knelt during the national anthem before Tuesday's exhibition game against the Detroit Tigers at Great American Ball Park.
The four players lined up together along the first-base line as other teammates stood beside them and showed their support. Mike Moustakas put his hand on Ervin's shoulder, Cody Reed put his hand on Garrett's shoulder and Sal Romano put his hand on Blandino's back.
Votto, Garrett, Ervin and Moustakas were among several Reds players who wore Black Lives Matter shirts during training camp.
"The way I see it with our players because I know them so well, whether they were standing or kneeling, it was all out of respect," Reds manager David Bell said in his postgame availability. "It was out of respect for everything that is great and good about our country, the sacrifices and the hard work that allow us to be here today.
"It also, the standing and kneeling, represents how much each individual on this team cares. If there is anything we can do to change and help us improve and become an even greater country, and certainly to stand against anything that our country doesn't stand for, whether that's racism or anything that's unfair. That, to me, is what was represented tonight."
The Reds players took a knee one day after several members of the San Francisco Giants, including manager Gabe Kapler, knelt during the anthem before the team's 6-2 exhibition win at the Oakland Athletics. At least a dozen Giants players and staff knelt on the field again Tuesday night at Oracle Park, among them Hunter Pence and Pablo Sandoval.
On Monday, Los Angeles Angels reliever Keynan Middleton knelt and raised his right fist during the national anthem before the Angels' 1-0 victory over the Padres in San Diego.
