#Nick Nurse says Raptors-Celtics Game 1 boycott is ‘on the table’

The threat of NBA players boycotting playoff games isn’t going away.

A day after the Raptors raised the possibility of not playing Thursday’s Game 1 against the Celtics to bring the focus back to racial and social justice, in the aftermath of Jacob Blake being shot by police in Wisconsin, Toronto coach Nick Nurse said Wednesday a boycott by both teams remains “on the table.”

“Boycotting the game has come up for them as a way to again try to demand a little more action,” Nurse told reporters after practice. “And I think that’s really what they want. I think there’s enough attention and there’s not quite enough action, and I think that’s what I can sense from the discussion.”

The Raptors and Celtics met Tuesday night to discuss a potential boycott, ESPN’s The Undefeated reported, and another meeting was expected to be held Wednesday night. The feeling after Tuesday’s meeting was that most players still wanted to play the Eastern Conference semifinals opener, according to the report.

The NBA Players Association executive committee is also in talks with players regarding the logistics of a possible boycott, Yahoo Sports reported Wednesday. A group of players held a meeting Tuesday night inside the NBA’s bubble, according to the report, to discuss what steps might be taken. Union president Chris Paul and first vice president Andre Iguodala were in attendance, Yahoo reported.

“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?”

Many players have been vocal about the playoff games taking attention away from bigger issues at hand across the country, which had been a major focus upon entering the bubble in July.

“We shouldn’t have even come to this damn place, to be honest,” Bucks guard George Hill said on Monday, per Yahoo. “I think coming here just took all the focal points off what the issues are.”