Rory Carroll

(Reuters] – Gabe Kapler of San Francisco Giants has announced that he won’t be taking the field in the pre-game performance of the National Anthem, protesting U.S. Government inaction after a Texas school shooting.

An 18-year old gunman used an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle that he legally purchased to kill nineteen schoolchildren and two teachers at Uvalde Elementary School in Texas.

Kapler said in a Friday blog post that “We don’t have the freedom when politicians decide lobbyists and gun industries are more valuable than our children being able to attend school without having to use bulletproof backpacks or active shooter drills.”

He also criticised the response of the Texas police to the attack.

A day later, Giants, as other pro-sports teams, observed a moment in silence to honor the victims of the shooting.

Kapler claimed that while he could have dropped to his knees or left the field at the beginning of the music, but instead chose to freeze, fearing it would be misinterpreted. A decision Kapler later regretted.

“I wish my discomfort hadn’t compromised my integrity. It would have been nice if I had demonstrated from my father that protesting your government is a way to express discontent with it. “The home of the brave should promote this.”

Cincinnati Reds host the Giants on Friday.