First MLB player takes a knee during national anthem

Looks like Trump's attack on black athletes in the NBA and NFL has backfired and has now spread to Major League Baseball.

Bruce Maxwell, son of a US Army veteran and Oakland As backup catcher became the first Major League Baseball player to kneel during the National Anthem. He did so after talking with his teammates and the general manager.

Maxwell stated:

“It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. These guys are my family; the Oakland A’s is the only family I’ve ever had in professional baseball. So being able to sit down and confidently have this conversation with David and with Bob Melvin and with my teammates before the game was something huge that I felt like needed to be done.”

“The point of my kneeling is not to disrespect the military. It’s not to disrespect our constitution. It’s not to disrespect our country … I’m kneeling for the people that don’t have a voice. This goes beyond the black community. This goes beyond the Hispanic community.”

Maxwell plans to continue to kneel for the anthem in the future:

“People think athletes should shut up and get their money and play their sport, but no matter how much money we make, no matter how many touchdowns we score, no matter how many home runs we hit, it doesn’t mean we aren’t people. Our paychecks don’t silence us.”

Bruce Maxwell First MLB Player To Protest National Anthem

Trump has an more of an issue with black athletes who protest than with white nationalist

By George L. Cook III African American Reports

There is a famous Maya Angelou quote, "When Someone Shows You Who They Are, Believe Them ."

Donald Trump has issues with Colin Kaepernick, Jemele Hill, and Stephen Curry (Wonder what they all have in common there?), all athletes are people in sports who don't support him or that have PEACEFULLY protested, but he seems to have no issues with white nationalist.

Trump's words last night at a campaign rally for Luther Strange show that he is very upset about attacking NFL players who kneel during the national anthem. He is more upset about that than white nationalist who marched while making anti-Semitic slurs at the University of Virginia, or the white supremacist who injured many and killed one person in Charlottesville. Trump showed more passion in calling black NFL players "son of a bitch" than he ever did when he was forced to denounce the alt-right. Watch that segment of his speech below:

Wow he seemed pretty fired up there and got a great reaction from the crowd filled with his supporters. But that wasn't enough; Trump had to take a shot at Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors after they pretty much said they didn't want to visit the White House to be honored for the 2017 NBA Championship.

In a response that took far shorter than the 48 hours it took to respond to the horrible events in Charlottesville, Trump tweeted:

Going to the White House is considered a great honor for a championship team. Stephen Curry is hesitating,therefore invitation is withdrawn!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 23, 2017

Of course what Trump did there was quit before he could be fired or dumped a girlfriend/boyfriend before they dump you. Trump also doesn't understand that you can't rescind an invitation that was never given or that was not going to be accepted anyway.

As every day passes he is showing that he doesn't care about anyone but his base, the rest of us be damned.

If not a racist then Trump is a man who has no problem being associated with racist or defending them.

The man has shown us who he is. Believe him.

Theatrical production to showcase last year of Martin Luther King's life

You think you know Martin Luther King Jr.'s story? Tavis Smiley is willing to bet you don't.

To mark the 50th anniversary of King's assassination next April, the radio and TV host is planning a nationwide tour of a theatrical production focusing on the last year of King's life, a time when he was reviled by some for expanding his critique of America beyond its racism to poverty issues and the Vietnam War.

"I don't want this anniversary to come and go without people finally coming to terms with wrestling with who Martin Luther King really was," Smiley told The Associated Press in an interview on Wednesday, the day before the official announcement of the production.

"Death of a King: A Live Theatrical Experience" is based on Smiley's 2014 book of the same title. Smiley will narrate from his book, and will be accompanied by jazz pianist Marcus Roberts.

The production will travel to 40 cities still to be determined. It is set to kick off on January 15, the day of the national holiday named for King and his actual birthday, and run through April 4, the anniversary of the day he was fatally shot while standing on a balcony at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1968.

Learn more about Death of a King: A Live Theatrical Experience: Death of a King: A Live Theatrical Experience

Andre Ward retires from boxing at age 33

Pound-for-pound king and unified light heavyweight world titleholder Andre Ward said in a statement on his website that he is "leaving" boxing.

"I want to be clear -- I am leaving because my body can no longer put up with the rigors of the sport and therefore my desire to fight is no longer there," the statement said. "If I cannot give my family, my team, and the fans everything that I have, then I should no longer be fighting."

On Thursday, the 33-year-old Ward (32-0, 16 KOs) told First Take more about the thought process behind his decision to retire.

"People see what I do fight night," he said. "They see under the lights, but they don't see the toil, they don't see the grind, they don't see just the pain, the physical pain that you go through, not just in the fights, but to prepare and to get ready for those battles."

He added: "I felt the physicality of the sport -- not just in-the-ring stuff, but the training and the preparation -- start to take its toll on me for the last two or three years, and I bit down and continued to push through. And at this point, it's time, and I know it's time."

Read more: With desire to fight gone, Andre Ward retires from boxing

Trump's pick for head of HBCU initiative lacks experience in academia or government

President Trump's pick to lead the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities fits the mold of many of the administration's key appointments.

Like many administration officials, Johnathan Holifield, a speaker and consultant named executive director of the HBCU Initiative Monday, has a track record in the private sector but practically no experience in government or with the institutions he'd be working to advance. Organizations representing historically black colleges offered tentative praise of the pick. But commentators on issues affecting minority institutions were quick to note Holifield's lack of experience working with HBCUs.

Reactions among some observers of HBCU institutions verged on befuddlement.

Marybeth Gasman, director of the Penn Center for Minority Serving Institutions, said entrepreneurship and innovation are important objectives for institutions to pursue. But she also said it was important for anyone in the office to have a deep familiarity with historically black colleges and their needs.

Gasman said she was skeptical, however, that any executive director would accomplish much in this administration.

"I don’t see Trump caring about HBCUs, as he has demonstrated this lack of care," she said. "I hope that Holifield does well, but I don’t see anyone working with the Trump administration having autonomy or being able to make substantial important changes."

Julianne Malveaux, an author and former president of Bennett College in North Carolina, said Holifield has tremendous business acumen. But she noted that many other individuals with entrepreneurial experience have also been more engaged with historically black colleges.

"The 45th president has done little to earn the trust of the HBCU community; this appointment does not engender trust, but instead suggests a 'wait, see and hope for the best' attitude," Malveaux said.

[Inside Higher Ed