OAKLAND, Calif. -- Bruce Maxwell knew that people would be watching, and so he took a knee, pulling baseball into a polarizing protest movement fueled by stars in the NFL, NBA and elsewhere.
Maxwell became the first major league baseball player to kneel during the national anthem before Khris Davis hit his 40th home run to lift the Oakland Athletics over the Texas Rangers 1-0 on Saturday night.
Maxwell dropped to a knee and pressed his cap against his chest just outside Oakland's dugout during the anthem, adopting a protest started by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in response to police treatment of blacks.