The police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha WI on Sunday put a big crack in the National Basketball Association’s so-called Bubble in Florida, in the midst of the first round of the 2020 playoffs.
The Milwaukee Bucks refused to leave their locker room to face the Orlando Magic on Wednesday afternoon. The NBA responded by postponing that playoff game and two others.
The team’s management stood behind the players’ decision.
“Some things are bigger than basketball,” Bucks senior vice president Alex Lasry tweeted on Wednesday
“The postponement affects first-round games between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Portland Trail Blazers, and between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Houston Rockets,” reported the New York Times. “Those games, as well as that of the Bucks and Magic, will be rescheduled.”
But it’s unclear when and or even whether the playoffs can be resumed.
Star players with other teams, including LeBron James, sided with the Bucks.
“Bucks guard George Hill was among multiple NBA players to question whether games should continue in light of ongoing social justice protests around the country,” reports the Washington Post. “Hill said Monday that NBA players ‘shouldn’t have even came to this damn place, to be honest.’”
The Bucks’ action had instant political implications in this tumultuous year.
“What stands out to me is just watching the Republican convention and viewing this fear, right?” Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers told Sports Illustrated after his team’s victory Tuesday night over the Dallas Mavericks.
“All you hear is Donald Trump and all of them talking about fear. We’re the ones getting killed. We’re the ones getting shot,” Rivers said.
“It’s amazing to me why we keep loving this country and this country does not love us back.”
And now Major League Baseball has joined the protest. The Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers announced they will not play tonight in protest of the Jacob Blake shooting.
