Sports

Derek Jeter Worries People Have Lost Sight Of What Athletes Are Protesting

OPINION
Former New York Yankees baseball professional Derek Jetter attended the wedding. In 2012 Trump tweeted about Jeter, “Derek Jeter had a great career until 3 days ago when he sold his apartment at Trump World Tower.” (Photo: Reuters)
Jena Greene Reporter
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Derek Jeter is worried that fans have started to lose sight of what professional athletes are protesting.

In a brief statement at the Fast Company Innovation Festival, he explained that he’s not sure everyone knows what they’re protesting, but as long as it’s peaceful he doesn’t have a problem with it.

In full, Jeter said:

I don’t know what the league rules are, to be quite honest with you, because this is something that just came up last year, so Ive been retired. It’s unfortunate … everyone has their ways of doing peaceful protest … And as long as it’s peaceful … if every protest was peaceful, the world would be a better place, right? You may not necessarily agree with how someone is protesting, but as long as it’s peaceful … Now, saying that, would I kneel during the anthem? No. I don’t think I would kneel during the anthem. But everyone has their own personal choice. I think people have lost sight of the fact of what someone is protesting about, and they are focusing on how they’re protesting, which is unfortunate. But its an uncomfortable conversation. It’s an uncomfortable conversation for a lot of people, and I don’t know if anyone has the right answer.

Derek Jeter retired as a Yankees all star in 2014 and is now a partial owner of the Miami Marlins. He’s still very much a part of the routine dialogue in the sports world.

Anthem protests haven’t been as popular in baseball as they have in football. The only notable protest this season was the Oakland Athletics’ Bruce Maxwell, who was arrested this year for pointing a gun at a woman.