The Milwaukee Bucks basketball team has decided to boycott Wednesday’s NBA playoff game with the Orlando Magic over the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin, Variety has confirmed. The NBA followed by postponing all playoff games for today.
What We Know:
- Tip-off between the Bucks and Magic was scheduled for 1 p.m. PT, but as of present, the Bucks team is refusing to take the court. The Orlando Magic had been warming up for the game but left the court when it became clear their opponents weren’t coming out. There has only been one other players’ strike in NBA history and it was in 1961.
- Per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Bucks players were in the locker room on a conference call with Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul and Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes. Orlando Magic players have left the arena and the team will not accept the Bucks’ forfeit.
- Players from other teams took quick action after the Bucks refused to take the court. Players from the Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Lakers, and Portland Trail Blazers decided to boycott their games today as well. According to Jared Diamond of The Wall Street Journal, players from the Milwaukee Brewers of the MLB have decided to not play tonight’s game against the Cincinnati Reds. In addition, the Seattle Mariners-San Diego Padres game and the San Francisco Giants-Los Angeles Dodgers game have been called off. WNBA players have confirmed that they will also sit out tonight’s games. Atlanta United FC and Inter Miami from the MLS will also not be holding their game tonight.
Center @E_Williams_1 reads statement on @espn as the representative for all @WNBA players. Tonight's games have been cancelled. pic.twitter.com/xDz4uCQSiD
— Atlanta Dream (@AtlantaDream) August 26, 2020
- Bucks players gave their statement about Jacob Blake and their strike of today’s game:
The Milwaukee Bucks statement: pic.twitter.com/F7XOPs4NqE
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) August 26, 2020
The Bucks statement, in print: “When we take the court and represent Milwaukee and Wisconsin, we are expected to play at a high level, give maximum effort and hold each other accountable… In this moment, we are demanding the same from our lawmakers and law enforcement.” pic.twitter.com/LrLKtsNvWs
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) August 26, 2020
- The NBA provided coverage of today’s events with a special broadcast of “Inside the NBA” on TNT. In a shocking moment, host Kenny Smith walked off the live broadcast in solidarity with NBA players. Broadcaster Chris Webber also provided a powerful and insightful message.
Kenny Smith just walked out on NBA on TNT in support of the players' boycott pic.twitter.com/N4Ix6CPTLG
— Chris Montano (@gswchris) August 26, 2020
Chris Webber dropping bars pic.twitter.com/l1yYL699OY
— Logan Murdock (@loganmmurdock) August 26, 2020
- The National Basketball Players Association also released their statement supporting the Bucks’ decision to not play:
NBPA Executive Director Michele Roberts on Player Protest and Postponement of Games pic.twitter.com/bjy6hpP9kU
— NBPA (@TheNBPA) August 27, 2020
- The Milwaukee Bucks are no strangers to racial injustice. In 2015, former player John Henson was racially profiled at a jewelry store. In 2018, Bucks forward Sterling Brown was the victim of police violence when he was wrongfully arrested for a parking violation. Footage from the incident shows officers punching him, tasing him, wrestling him to the ground, and pinning him down with their knees. One of the officers was arrested and Brown was offered a $400,000 settlement to remain quiet, but he chose to speak openly about his experience in his Players’ Tribune article.
- Jacob Blake was shot seven times by a police officer earlier this week as he was trying to get into his car. The shooting, which has left Blake partially paralyzed according to his family, was captured on video and has led to large-scale protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Those protests have resulted in two people being killed, and one being seriously injured in multiple shootings.
The NBA has officially postponed its playoff games for today and they will be rescheduled for a later date. There will be a players meeting tonight in Orlando to discuss the next steps and the rest of the season. The NBA has scheduled a Board of Governors meeting for Thursday morning.
This is a developing story and will be updated here.
