Giants pitcher declines to kneel before national anthem on Opening Day

Almost all players and coaches kneeled for a moment of support for the Black Lives Matter movement during Thursday's Opening Day matchup between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants ... except one.

Giants pitcher Sam Coonrod didn't kneel with the rest of his teammates and opponents, saying his religion and personal feelings about Black Lives Matter wouldn't allow him to do so.

"I’m a Christian," the 27-year-old relief pitcher said, according to TMZ. "So I just believe that I can’t kneel before anything besides God.

"I just can’t get on board with a couple things I’ve read about Black Lives Matter, how they lean towards Marxism. And … they said some negative things about the nuclear family. I just can’t get on board with that.”

Coonrod seems, at the very least, misinformed about the Black Lives Matter movement. However, he, like many, is trying to educate himself on the topic. 

Before the Dodgers and Giants game began, the New York Yankees and Washington Nationals had players join together in grabbing a black sheet and kneeling during a moment of support for the movement ahead of their Opening Day clash.