Taylor Walls, shortstop for the Tampa Bay Rays, clarified that his recent on-field celebration was not meant as an endorsement of any political candidate. On Sunday, after hitting a double, Walls pumped his fist and shouted, “Fight! Fight! Fight!” The gesture mimicked a reaction after a bullet grazed an individual’s ear during a Pennsylvania event on July 13. “I think it’s pretty inspirational when any person, in the blink of an eye, their life could be taken from them,” Walls said before the Rays faced Toronto.
“To immediately stand up and show strength, to me, speaks pretty loudly. Anyone in that situation or that type of event, when it happens, it’s strong. It kind of represents character to me.”
Walls added that he has faced similar challenges in baseball, but on a much smaller scale.
Despite this, he said he doesn’t plan to make the gesture again. “That was kind of more of a joke that we have with guys in the locker room,” he said. “Joke may not be the right word.
It was just something that we thought was funny and would be all right. I don’t really see that going much further than that.
Walls discusses gesture, political neutrality
I don’t foresee myself doing it again.”
Walls declined to reveal whom he intends to vote for in the upcoming election, referencing President Joe Biden’s recent decision not to seek reelection. He emphasized that the values he was brought up with play a significant role in his political choices. “You can read between the lines of how I carry myself, how I was raised, how me and my family coordinate, how we’re going to go about things and do things,” Walls said.
“That’s kind of what I base my vote on and my view on.”
Walls is not alone in facing scrutiny over potential political connotations. The St. Louis Cardinals’ designated hitter recently addressed similar speculation regarding a celebration during a game.
The incident involved teammates cupping their ears with one hand and raising their fists, a gesture some connected to the assassination attempt on the Republican presidential nominee. Designated hitter Matt Carpenter emphasized that the celebration was an “inside joke” with teammate Alec Burleson, intended to mimic a DJ’s movements. “Burleson is a former college rapper,” Carpenter explained.
“He’s been carrying us at the plate. The celebration is the furthest thing from a political statement.”
