Dom Smith kneels for anthem, gets emotional after Mets' game vs. Marlins
The tears were streaming down Dom Smith’s cheeks as he talked about why he decided to kneel for the national anthem before Wednesday night’s 5-4 Mets victory over the Marlins at Citi Field.
“I’ve been very emotional,” Smith said. “Just to see this continuously happen. I mean, it was a long day for me. Kind of wasn’t there mentally. But we’ll be all right.”
Smith, who is Black, is believed to be the first Mets player to kneel for the anthem. He did so with his Mets cap over his heart.
None of Smith’s teammates joined him. But manager Luis Rojas and rightfielder Michael Conforto both said Smith had their full support.
Smith said he knelt because of a boycott movement that began sweeping across the sports world on Wednesday as the country grapples with the latest police shooting of a Black man. The shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, has reignited a debate in sports about what players can and should do in response.
It started in the NBA when the Milwaukee Bucks boycotted their scheduled playoff game and the NBA responded by postponing three Orlando bubble playoff games. WNBA players called off their games. The movement spread to baseball when three games (Reds-Brewers, Mariners-Padres and Giants-Dodgers) were postponed.
Two Black baseball players – Jason Heyward of the Cubs and Matt Kemp of the Rockies – decided not to play in their teams’ games on Wednesday.
Asked what was most difficult for him about what’s going on in the country, Smith paused for a moment before answering, through tears: “I think the most difficult part is to see that people just don’t care and for this to continuously happen, it just shows just the hate in peoples’ heart. That just sucks, you know? Being a Black man in America is not easy.”
Later, Smith said: “To see the constant stuff that just reoccurs . . . it’s just terrible. My heart goes out to their family. I just don’t want to see it happen to my kids. And that’s a thing that I fear.”
Smith, Conforto, Jacob deGrom and Rojas all said there was no discussion of the Mets not playing against the Marlins on Wednesday.
“Things happened fast,” Smith said. “A lot of this stuff was going on while we were at the field. So we’re trying to prep, get ready for a game, and a lot of times we’re not on our phone, we’re not checking in. So to kind of see those things happen very fast and it kind of wasn’t really a thought over here. That’s why I decided to take a knee tonight . . . Just with everything that’s going on in the world, I just decided to just take a little notice and take a step back and really just see what’s going on. So that’s why I chose tonight. I felt like tonight was the perfect night, especially with other teams canceling their games and especially looking at the NBA. They canceled all their games today. So I just wanted to make a stand like that and just to show my support.”
Conforto said he supports Smith’s decision to kneel, but doesn’t plan to join him.
“I probably won’t,” Conforto said. “It’s just my personal decision to stand for the national anthem. That’s what I’ve always done. But I will be there with him and he knows that I support him.”
Smith said he didn’t think before the game about the Mets boycotting on Wednesday night.
“I love baseball,” he said. “I love getting out there and playing. That’s my safe haven. That’s where I get my mind off all the stress that goes on in my life. I kind of didn’t think too much into it, but that’s something that I did think about afterward.”
Would Smith want to see the Mets boycott Thursday night’s game?
“I don’t know,” he said. “We’ll see. I’m sure we’re going to discuss it. We all have a job to do. I’m here. I love baseball. We’re here. If there’s a game tomorrow, I’m sure I’ll be here. We’ll see how it goes.”
Smith, 25, and outfielder Billy Hamilton are the only two Black players on the Mets’ current 28-man roster.
When asked if he expected his teammates to join him in kneeling in the future, Smith choked up again and said: “It’s not for them. I don’t care. That [stuff] doesn’t matter. It’s not for them.”
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
