General

#Milwaukee Bucks boycott NBA playoff game after Jacob Blake shooting

#Milwaukee Bucks boycott NBA playoff game after Jacob Blake shooting

August 26, 2020 | 4:31pm | Updated August 26, 2020 | 5:02pm

The Milwaukee Bucks boycotted Game 5 of their NBA playoff series with the Orlando Magic on Wednesday, in response to Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, being shot and paralyzed from the waist down by police Sunday in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

The game appeared headed for a delayed start as Bucks players declined to leave their locker room for the first-round game with the Magic, which was scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. League officials reportedly stood outside the Milwaukee locker room as Orlando players warmed up on the court. The Magic players ultimately returned to their locker room as the arena clock ticked down, and it was later reported that they would not accept a forfeit.

“We’re tired of the killings and the injustice,” Bucks guard George Hill told The Undefeated.

Alex Lasry, the senior vice president of the Bucks, tweeted: “Some things are bigger than basketball. The stand taken today by the players and org shows that we’re fed up. Enough is enough. Change needs to happen. I’m incredibly proud of our guys and we stand 100% behind our players ready to assist and bring about real change.”

The boycott comes as NBA players have continued to speak about social and racial injustices following the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, among others.

Players have sported social-justice messages on their jerseys and knelt during the national anthem, while ‘Black Lives Matter’ emblazoned on the courts in the Disney World bubble.

milwaukee bucks nba boycott magic game 5 jacob blake
Getty Images

Before the league restarted in July following a coronavirus-induced pause, some players, include injured Nets star Kyrie Irving, initially voiced concerns about playing inside a bubble amid the country’s reckoning on racism.

NBA players quickly took to social media to stand in solidarity with the Bucks’ decision to boycott.

“F–K THIS MAN!!!! WE DEMAND CHANGE,” LeBron James tweeted. “SICK OF IT.”

“WE DEMAND CHANGE! SALUTE @Bucks,” Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell wrote on Twitter as the boycott got underway.

“WE DEMAND JUSTICE,” Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray tweeted.

The Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets planned to boycott their 5 p.m. game according to The Athletic, with the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers meeting to discuss doing the same, ESPN reported.

The Toronto Raptors have been discussing a potential boycott of their semifinal opener against the Boston Celtics. Both teams, as well as NBA players association representatives spoke of bringing the focus back to social justice.

“At the end of the day, if we’re gonna sit here and talk about making change, then at some point we’re gonna have to put our nuts on the line and actually put something up to lose, rather than just money or visibility,” Raptors guard Fred VanVleet said Tuesday. “We’ve gotta take responsibility as well. Like, what are we willing to give up? Do we actually give a f— about what’s going on, or is it just cool to wear ‘Black Lives Matter’ on the backdrop, or wear a T-shirt? Like, what does that really mean? Is it really doing anything?”

On Tuesday, the NFL’s Detroit Lions canceled their practice to protest the shooting of Blake, which is currently being investigated by the Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation.

The unidentified officer who shot Blake has since been placed on leave.

If you want to read more Sports News articles, you can visit our General category.

if you want to watch Movies or Tv Shows go to Dizi.BuradaBiliyorum.Com for forums sites go to Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com

Source

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button
Close

Please allow ads on our site

Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker!