Players from six NBA teams decided Wednesday that no action would be the best action to further advance their stance stance against police brutality against Blacks and social injustice in America.
In an historic move, three NBA playoff games were postponed Wednesday because of team boycotts to protest the latest shooting, which happened Sunday afternoon in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The boycott is more meaningful action to protest social injustice than what the league has already approved, like: painting "Black Lives Matter" on the courts, allowing players to kneel in protest during the national anthem, letting players replace their names on the back of their jerseys with social justice slogans and also the players wearing "Black Lives Matter" t-shirts during warmups.
Players from the Milwaukee Bucks led the boycott by not showing up for warmups prior to Game 5 against the Orlando Magic. Once that game was officially postponed, the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder boycotted, and then the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers boycotted, making it a clean sweep Wednesday.
Furthermore, the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors are discussing a boycott of Game 1 of their second-round series that starts Saturday.
Why the boycott? Jacob Blake, a Black man, is shown in a video Sunday getting shot in the back several times by a Kenosha police officer. The video shows Blake walking from the passenger side of a grey sport van, and then walking around the front of the vehicle and trying to enter the driver's side. A white police officer is shown grabbing the back of the Blake's shirt and pulling him back from entering the car. Then, seven loud pops can be heard.
Blake was taken to a local hospital, where he had surgery. Blake is paralyzed from the waist down.
On Monday night in Kenosha, there were violent protests, with rioters setting businesses on fire, including car lots. On Tuesday night, there were more protests, and a 17-year-old was eventually arrested for allegedly shooting two people to death and injuring another.
More protests are expected this week, and President Donald Trump said he would send federal agents to Wisconsin to help law enforcement protect the city.
The NBA released a statement Wednesday that said the postponed games will be rescheduled.
"The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association today announced that in light of the Milwaukee Bucks' decision to not take the floor today for Game 5 against the Orlando Magic, today's three games – Bucks vs. Magic, Houston Rockets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Lakers vs. Portland Trail Blazers - have been postponed. Game 5 of each series will be rescheduled," the league stated in a release.
The NBA is scheduled to hold a meeting with the players at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday night to decide the next steps to take following the boycotts.
Also, the Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball have called a boycott of their Wednesday night game, and other MLB teams have declared they might boycott as well.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Scott McDonald is a Newsweek deputy night editor based in Cape Coral, Florida. His focus is assigning and writing stories ... Read more
