St. Louis Cardinals deny player home run celebrations were homages to President Trump’s reaction to assassination attempt

By David Close, CNN

(CNN) — The St. Louis Cardinals are denying widespread speculation that their players were paying homage to former President Donald Trump while rounding the bases on Sunday.

After Alec Burleson’s solo home run in the third inning against the Atlanta Braves, the game broadcast showed the right fielder cupping his ear with his left hand and raising his right arm while rounding third base. Some of his teammates mirrored Burleson while celebrating the home run.

The following inning, Cards player Lars Nootbaar homered and, while rounding second, he bent down and mimicked grabbing his ear and then raised his fist upward.

Some on social media claimed the gestures looked similar to how the former president reacted after being led off the rally stage on July 13.

“Definitely not a political statement,” the Cardinals’ designated hitter Matt Carpenter told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch when asked about the similarities following the win.

“That’s off-base here. It’s the furthest thing from a political statement and a little thing (for Burleson). I can understand why everyone is looking for something right now. The St. Louis Cardinals aren’t involved in any kind of political statement,” he told the outlet.

When asked about the celebrations, Cardinals spokesperson Brian Bartow told CNN the salutes were playful references to Burleson’s “DJ/rapper nickname of ‘Biscuits’” as the player was a DJ in college.

CNN asked the Cardinals if Bartow and Nootbaar had a comment.

Both Carpenter and the team said the players had been mimicking a typical DJ’s gestures earlier in the season – before the assassination attempt on Trump.

“It was simply a fun, celebratory exchange between the players and their teammate, who has been knocking the cover off of the ball for us,” Bartow said.

In a separate game on Sunday, broadcast video showed the Tampa Bay Rays’ Taylor Walls celebrating a double versus the New York Yankees with his right arm raised and appearing to mouth, ”Fight! Fight!”

Again, speculation on social media began immediately after asking if Walls was imitating a bloodied Donald Trump’s rallying cry while being led away by secret service agents in Butler, PA.

CNN reached out to Walls through the Rays and has not heard back. When the Tampa Bay Times asked Rays manager Kevin Cash for comment, he is reported to have said, “I was happy he hit a double.”

The Rays told CNN that the team had no further comment to make and pointed to Walls’ quotes in an interview with the Tampa Bay Times on Tuesday.

“I think it’s pretty inspirational when any person, in the blink of an eye, their life could be taken from them,” Walls said. “They don’t really know what’s going on in the heat of the moment.”

“To immediately stand up and show strength, to me, speaks pretty loudly,” Walls added. “Anyone in that situation or that type of event, when it happens, it’s strong. It kind of represents character to me, and something that similarly I feel like I’ve faced those challenges in baseball, but on a much suppressed level.”

Walls added: “I don’t foresee myself doing it again.”

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