Maxwell, who is African American and from a military family, was one of dozens of athletes who fired back at Trump online on Saturday, noting the issue now has extended to supporting the right to free speech.

“My decision had been coming for a long time,” Maxwell said after the A’s 1-0 victory, citing his own experiences with racism while growing up in Huntsville, Ala., where Trump made his initial comments Friday. “The only way we can come together is by informing. … To single out NFL players for doing this isn’t something we should be doing — I felt it should be a little more broad.”