Just shy of 7 p.m. on Thursday, Mookie Betts joined the rest of his teammates along the third-base line at Dodger Stadium. Betts, a Black man from Tennessee, was situated between two White players as the entirety of the roster knelt during a pre-planned moment of silence. The other Dodgers rose when the moment passed. Betts did not. One day after finalizing a contract extension worth $365 million, he committed an act that in recent years has become fraught with meaning and misunderstanding. He remained on a knee during the national anthem.

The gesture was one of dozens made as Major League Baseball started its 2020 campaign. The most indelible images from opening weekend occurred before pitches were thrown. Phillies outfielder Andrew McCutchen wrote a message with his wife, Maria, that was narrated by Morgan Freeman at ballparks around the country. In Arlington, Texas, Rockies veteran Matt Kemp took a knee during the anthem. In Oakland, Khris Davis and Tony Kemp of the...

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McCullough: MLB convenes an opening weekend of protests, platitudes and progress - The Athletic