PHILADELPHIA -- Gabe Kapler has spent the last five days answering questions about his decision not to come out for the national anthem, but on Tuesday afternoon, Farhan Zaidi made it clear that Kapler is not alone.
On a call with beat reporters, Zaidi said the Giants have been working behind the scenes to help organizations that are working for more gun control and that he supports Kapler's decision to make his own feelings known publicly. Zaidi, the Giants' president of baseball operations, got emotional when talking about Kapler's decision, pausing at one point as he choked up.
"The one thing that I'm more sure about Gabe Kapler than anything else is that he cares," Zaidi said. "He cares about the players in our clubhouse, he cares about the people he works with, he cares about this organization, he cares about our fans, and he cares about the community. I'm just thankful every day that I get to work with somebody who cares that much.
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"I may not agree with everything he says or does on a personal level and that may be true of other people, but his passion, his thoughtfulness and his conviction over the last few days, those are the same traits that made him the Manager of the Year last year and have made him such an effective leader for our team and our organization."
Kapler announced on Friday in Cincinnati that he would not be out on the field for the playing of the national anthem until he feels better about the direction of this country. He did come out for Monday's ceremony because it was Memorial Day, but he was back in the clubhouse before Tuesday's game. Hours before that, Zaidi spoke at length about conversations that have been happening in the Giants organization before and since the tragic mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
Zaidi said members of the organization, including general manager Scott Harris, have been working to build a relationship with Everytown, a nonprofit organization that advocates for gun control and against gun violence. The Giants also plan to be active on national gun safety awareness day later this week and Zaidi said Kapler and others would participate in pregame activities.
"This is an organization that has a long history of doing what we can to promote the platform of stronger gun safety laws and that was obviously a big part of what Gabe had to say on his blog post and a big impetus for his actions over the last few days," Zaidi said.
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Zaidi said the Giants want to "express support for Gabe's call for stronger action in this area," although he acknowledged that sitting out the anthem could upset some fans who feel it is disrespectful, particularly to members of the military.
"We view the national anthem as an important part of the pregame before every baseball game but we recognize people are going to relate to it in different ways, particularly given different circumstances," Zaidi said. "We just kind of wanted to express our support for his right to articulate his views and to take these positions but we recognize that those aren't necessarily the positions that all of our fans or even everybody in our organization would take."
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Zaidi said the Giants have spoken to MLB since Kapler announced his decision. He also has spoken to Greg Johnson, the son of Charles Johnson, the largest shareholder in the ownership group. Charles Johnson has been a financial supporter of Republican candidates who have fought back against calls for gun control, including controversial Colorado congresswoman Lauren Boebert, who said last week that the United States does not need new gun control laws. In that sense, a key member of ownership is working against the desires of Kapler and some others in the organization.
"I've spoken to Greg on this over the last few days and he has expressed support for our work with Everytown and their platforms," Zaidi said. "That's the important thing here, that Greg and the Johnson family support our efforts in that partnership which is really the main thrust of our efforts in this area."