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What Had Happened Was: 8/30/16

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    Miami Marlins v New York Mets
    NEW YORK, NY – AUGUST 29: Yoenis Cespedes #52 of the New York Mets is drenched with water after hitting a walk off home run in the tenth inning to defeat the Miami Marlins 2-1 in a game at Citi Field on August 29, 2016 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. Rich Schultz/Getty Images
    By Ryan Cortes Rhiannon Walker

    GAME. BLOUSES.

    It was a tie game between the Miami Marlins and New York Mets in the bottom half of the 10th inning Monday night at Citi Field. Then Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes came up and cranked a 1-1 pitch into the great beyond. A walk-off homer is cool and all, but a walk-off homer with this bat flip is a different level of cool. Check this man out:

    https://vine.co/v/5e2vEWEJeiH

    “He crushed it,” said Mets pitcher Josh Smoker. “It was one of those, the minute he got it off, you knew it was gone. I was ecstatic. It was unbelievable.”

    BLESSINGS!

     

    Musician Chance The Rapper actually took the time to pretend to be one of those car dealership waving inflatable men on the red carpet of Sunday’s MTV Video Music Awards. Let’s just appreciate his coolness.

    SOCIAL STATUS

    Welp. Sorry, clock.

    FOR THE CULTURE

    Rapper Young Thug’s engineer may just be making a trap version of The Star-Spangled Banner.

    Time to shame those who didn’t actually know who Teyana Taylor was before Sunday’s VMAs.

    How a fight over teachers has left one Mexican town broken and battered.

    Many Texas LGBT college students say they feel unsafe because people can now carry guns on campus.

    TOP THREE TWEETS

    Every morning we’ll hit you here with the best of what we saw on social media the previous night. Why? Why not?

    1. FOR THE LOVE OF THE KICKS

    2. THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR

    3. NO EXCUSES

    #ICYMI

    Two for the price of one today: Check out the column our brother Domonique Foxworth penned explaining why he supports San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick‘s decision to sit during the national anthem.

    In an America where many of the most powerful people use their power and influence to gain further advantages, widening the gap between their children and ours, Kaepernick has risked more than most people to speak up for you. Yes, he speaks for you, too, white folks. Whether he intends to or not. Yes, he speaks for soldiers who have died in defense of this country and veterans of war who suffer back at home without the support they have more than earned. He even speaks for the police whose actions prompted his nonviolent demonstration.

    Also, check out our friend Bomani Jones’ column highlighting Kaepernick’s distinction in asking for justice, not peace:

    This wasn’t what Carmelo Anthony and Friends did at The ESPYS, a moment that was important but took great pains to make a statement that offended no one. It wasn’t what the belated Michael Jordan did on this website when he announced he was donating money to groups representing the interests of black people and the police. To paraphrase Peter Tosh, they asked for peace while Kaepernick cried out for justice. That distinction is both subtle and significant. Kaepernick even went beyond the WNBA players who stood in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and asked their league to do the same. He made no plea to both sides, nor did he make a call for unity. He’s not concerned with whether his team or his league has his back. When he could have smoothed over any pending reaction to his actions, he focused squarely on racism, the most consistent and overpowering impediment to black success in America, and the thread that connects every era of its history. While the major party candidates for president spent the week pointing at each other with charges of who is or isn’t the real racist, Kaepernick pointed at the flag and, by extension, every person who takes pride in the American flag. And he did so alone, fully aware that backup might never come.

    PICTURE PERFECT

    Ryan Cortes is a staff writer for The Undefeated. Lemon pepper his wings.

    Rhiannon Walker is an associate editor at The Undefeated. She is a drinker of Sassy Cow Creamery chocolate milk, an owner of an extensive Disney VHS collection, and she might have a heart attack if Frank Ocean doesn't drop his second album.

    This Story Tagged: What Had Happened Was Gael Monflis Yoenis Cespedes