In the 2020 season debut, every player on the Nationals and Yankees took a knee immediately ahead of the national anthem. Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The defending World Series champion Washington Nationals are hosting the New York Yankees to open the 2020 season in D.C. Thursday night.

The backdrop here was Washington raising its World Series flag after winning the title last season.

Though, there’s a lot more that went down at Nationals Park. That included every player on the Nationals and Yankees taking a knee immediately ahead of the national anthem.

We saw it during exhibition games earlier this month. Multiple teams taking a knee to protest racial inequality and police brutality in the United States in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death back on May 25.

As we have seen with other sports, this is now becoming more prevalent. Athletes have taken note and are using their platforms as a way to help create the change so many believe is necessary.

It’s certainly going to be one of the major backdrops to the truncated 2020 MLB season.

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