The whirlwind postponement of NBA matches this morning following a team's decision to boycott their game over the shooting of Jacob Blake has had a domino effect in other sporting arenas.
A pair of Major League Baseball games were postponed this afternoon as players across the sports landscape reacted in the wake of the weekend shooting by police of Blake, a Black man, in Wisconsin.
Games between the Cincinnati Reds and Brewers in Milwaukee and the Seattle Mariners and Padres in San Diego were called off hours before they were set to begin.
Other MLB games had finished, were in progress or just about to start when the announcements were made.
The baseball postponements came after the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks didn’t come out on the floor for Game 5 of their first-round playoff series with the Orlando Magic this morning at Lake Buena Vista, Florida. NBA officials later announced that all three of the day’s scheduled playoff games had been postponed.
Blake was shot multiple times by police in Kenosha, about 40 miles south of Milwaukee. The Blake family’s attorney said Blake was paralyzed and that it would “take a miracle” for him to walk again.
The shooting of the 29-year-old Blake was captured on cellphone video Sunday and ignited protests in Kenosha and elsewhere.
“The players from the Brewers and Reds have decided to not play tonight’s baseball game. With our community and our nation in such pain, we wanted to draw as much attention to the issues that really matter, especially racial injustice and systemic oppression," players from both teams said in a joint statement.
Mariners player Dee Gordon said the team decided unanimously to skip today's game.
“There are serious issues in this country,” Gordon tweeted. “For me, and for many of my teammates, the injustices, violence, death and systemic racism is deeply personal. This is impacting not only my community, but very directly my family and friends. Our team voted unanimously not to play tonight.”
“Instead of watching us, we hope people will focus on the things more important than sports that are happening," he said.
The WNBA also postponed its three games today, hours after the NBA's move.
”We know it’s a very emotional time for our players. They are struggling with what’s been happening in this country for months, if not yearss," said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, who said the league supports its players decision to not play.
In Bradenton, Florida, in the WNBA bubble, Washington was set to play Atlanta, Minnesota was going to face Los Angeles, and Connecticut was going to meet Phoenix. Players from the Mystics, Dream, Sparks and Lynx were talking on the court for about an hour deciding whether to play or not. The decision was announced shortly before the expected tip for the Mystics and Dream.
All four teams took a knee at centre court right before leaving the court.
Atlanta Dream player Elizabeth Williams read a statement on ESPN saying that the “consensus is not to play in tonight’s games."
“We stand in solidarity with our brothers in the NBA, and will continue this conversation with our brothers and sisters across all leagues and look to take collective action,” said Williams, the secretary of the players' union.
The Mystics came into the arena wearing shirts that spelled out Blake’s name on the front and had holes in the back to signify the seven bullets that the 29-year-old black man was hit with by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The league had just passed its halfway mark of the 22-game season. With teams playing pretty much every other day in the bubble the postponed games will most likely have to be made up after the regular season ends on Sept. 12.
The WNBA and its players have dedicated this season to social justice. Players have been wearing the name of Breonna Taylor on the back of the uniforms all season long.
Taylor, a 26-year-old Black emergency medical technician, was shot eight times by plainclothes Louisville police officers serving a narcotics search warrant at her apartment on March 13. No drugs were found. Her family and protesters around the country have called for swift action against the officers who shot Taylor.
Over the course of the season players have worn warmup shirts that read “Black Lives Matter” on the front and “Say Her Name” on the back. The phrase “Black Lives Matter” is featured prominently on the courts where the teams play.
Former world No.1 tennis star Naomi Osaka has also joined the movement, saying she will not play her semi-final tomorrow at the Cincinnati Masters.
"Before I am an athlete, I am a black woman," she said on Twitter.
"And as a black woman, I feel as though there are much more important matters at hand that need immediate attention rather than watching me play tennis.
"I don't expect anything drastic to happen with me not playing, but if I can get a conversation started in a majority white sport I consider that a step in the right direction."
- Associated Press contributed to this report
SHARE ME