TORONTO -- If a Yankees player ever decides to kneel for the national anthem, manager Joe Girardi's stance isn't all that different from President Trump's.

"It's not something that I would choose to do," Girardi said Sunday before the Yankees' game with the Toronto Blue Jays. "It's my opinion. I'm entitled to my opinion and others are entitled to their own opinion. There's going to be a lot of things in this world that you may not agree with. I think it's a player's right. That's the country we live in. It's a player's right. You don't necessarily have to agree with it, but it's what people do."

The morning after the Yankees clinched a playoff berth, Girardi spent half of his seven-minute pre-game media session answering questions about the reactions by some professional athletics to President Trump criticizing NFL players to kneeling in a speech on Friday night in a political rally in Huntsville, Ala. Trump's comments that set up some players were, "Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, 'Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out. He's fired! He's fired!"

This growing trend was started last year by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in response to police treatment of blacks. Kaepernick opted out of his contract after the 2016 season and still hasn't landed with a team despite having better credentials than many current NFL QBs.

Girardi was asked why he doesn't agree with players' kneeling.

"Those are my personal reflections and I'm not going to necessarily dive into it because that just opens up a huge can of worms and allows you to write stories for weeks," he answered.

Anthem kneeling bled into Major League Baseball for the first time on Saturday when Oakland Athletics rookie catcher Bruce Maxwell took a knee for the anthem prior to a home game against the Texas Rangers.

About two dozen NFL players also kneeled for the anthem Sunday before a Baltimore Ravens-Jacksonville Jaguars' game in London.

Trump's comments also led to criticism from NBA superstar Stephen Curry, who said he was on the fence joining Golden State Warriors in a White House visit to celebrate their 2016-17 championship. Trump countered by rescinding the invite.

Asked about his feelings on players boycotting White House visits, Girardi said, "That's choices that players make. I know that when we had a chance to go there, whether I agreed with the President's stance or disagreed with the President's stance, I thought it was an honor to go. I've been there a number of times. I've been there as a collegiate player and I thought it was an honor to go there. I know I wouldn't want a President's job, I can tell you that!"

Girardi won't have to worry about that unless the Yankees win the World Series this year, and thus far he's hasn't have to deal with any of his players kneeling for the anthem.

How will Girardi react if one of his players do it ... or if a group of his players do it?

"If a player chooses to do it, he chooses to do it and that's something that we have to deal with," Girardi said. "I don't think you live in a world in a sense where it's a player's right or a person's right to do something and I say, 'Don't do it.' That's not the world that we live in today."

Girardi says he won't meet with his club to discuss this topic.

"I think (discussions) happen more spontaneous than not spontaneous," he said. "Players probably have a thought in their mind and they think about it. Some guys might bring it to the club before they do it. Some guys may choose not to.

"Obviously, we live in a country where you're allowed to express what you want to express. That's a great part about living in America and from a law standpoint there's no consequences, but sometimes there are consequences in the way people view you. Those are the consequences you have to deal with. We live in a great country that allows you to express what you want to express."

Girardi feels players kneeling can divide teams.

"Those are the concerns that you have as a manager when a player chooses to do that, how it affects the team chemistry and sometimes it's things that you've got to work through," he said. "But there are other things in the game that affect team chemistry that you have to work through, whether it's the trading deadline or just different things, and that's just part of my job."

Randy Miller may be reached at rmiller@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RandyJMiller. Find NJ.com on Facebook.