Yankees’ Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Hicks take a knee during national anthem

WASHINGTON — Aaron Hicks and Giancarlo Stanton became the first Yankees to take a knee during the national anthem, doing so before Saturday’s night’s game against the Nationals.

As a prerecorded version of the anthem played, the pair took a knee along the leftfield line.

When the song ended, second baseman DJ LeMahieu patted both of them on the back, presumably in a show of support.

The decision by Stanton and Hicks to take a knee is notable for a variety of reasons, not the least of which are the potential complications brought about by the Yankees’ invitation to President Donald Trump to throw out a ceremonial first pitch before a game in August. Trump made the announcement during a news conference Thursday afternoon.

More than a few in the organization — from players to staff to executives — were incensed, seeing a disconnect between the statement the club put out regarding Black Lives Matter and racial injustice on June 8 and the invitation.

“Black lives matter,” read part of the lengthy statement released by the club on its Twitter page June 8. “The New York Yankees condemn racism, prejudice and injustice in all forms.”

Speaking on Wednesday on the eve of the season opener here, general manager Brian Cashman said he would support any of his players who chose to exercise his right to protest in such a manner.

“Obviously, that’s a manifestation of where our country currently is,” Cashman said of the kneeling. “Our country is, in many ways, the greatest country in the world, and in some ways, it’s broken in certain aspects where we’re not all together and not all as one as we should be. And because of that, you’re seeing demonstrations like kneeling at the anthem as part of that process because part of our community is hurting when it shouldn’t be. And if it’s been ignored for such a long period of time and not been addressed as well as it should have been or could have been, the great part of America is there’s different ways to express yourself and different platforms to utilize how you express yourself. So I support the ability for somebody to protest in the way they see fit as long as it’s, obviously, in a legal and healthy way. I think there’s nothing more American than being able to express your beliefs. I’m always supportive of that.” 

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Before Thursday night’s opener, the majority of players on both teams wore Black Lives Matter T-shirts, pretty much the case across the league.

Then, before Thursday’s anthem, both teams lined up along the lines and took a knee while holding a black cloth that extended almost foul pole to foul pole as Morgan Freeman read an audio clip addressing social injustice.

“I thought it was a good idea to have everyone kneel at the same time and bring hope for any overall reason you want to do it,” Stanton said after Thursday’s game. “And for me, it’s for the racial injustice and the Black lives in general and a lot of other things that’s been going on. But we all have individual reasons to be able to do so.”

Erik Boland started in Newsday’s sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.