A’s catcher Bruce Maxwell, who made headlines by kneeling during the national anthem last season, was arrested for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon early Saturday night.
According to TMZ Sports, the 26-year-old was arrested last night at his home in Scottsdale, AZ. Allegedly, the victim, a female food delivery driver, told the police Maxwell pointed a gun at her and he is currently in police custody. On Monday, the Associated Press reported that Maxwell showed signs of intoxication during the incident.
This incident in Scottsdale is coming off the coattails of another situation where Maxwell claims he was denied service in a restaurant in his hometown in Alabama last week. Maxwell was at lunch with a city councilman, an African-American and high school classmate of Maxwell, and their waiter said he would not serve them.
“I was racially profiled,” Maxwell said. “He denied us service at lunch and they had to go get us another waiter to wait on our table. That’s where I’m from. And like I said, unless you’re subject to it, you won’t understand it, you won’t feel it. I’m 26 years old. I’m very respectful. I’m very educated. And it still happens to this day. That’s why I’m kneeling—stuff like that.”
Maxwell claims the waiter denied to serve them because he recognized him as the first major leaguer to follow in the footsteps of Colin Kaepernick and many others in the NFL and kneel during the national anthem. Yet, the waiter denies this to be the reason.
From the @sfchronicle’s Santiago Mejia, here is A’s rookie Bruce Maxwell becoming the first MLB player to take a knee for the anthem: pic.twitter.com/q8QVY9hW15
— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) September 24, 2017