Post by DrSchadenfreude on Aug 26, 2020 18:40:13 GMT -5
NBA playoffs come to halt: Games postponed as players protest social injustice
August 26, 2020
Days after the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wis., the Milwaukee Bucks did not take the court as scheduled for Game 5 of their first-round playoff series with the Orlando Magic on Wednesday, leading the NBA to postpone the day’s triple-header.
Game 5 between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets as well as Game 5 for the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers were also scheduled for Wednesday. Those games will be rescheduled, the NBA said in a statement.
The Bucks and Magic were scheduled to play the first game of a playoff triple-header on Wednesday with a scheduled tip time of 4 p.m. But only the Magic took the court for the traditional pregame warm-ups, with the Bucks remaining in their locker room. When the game clock ticked down to a few minutes before the scheduled tip-off, the Magic left the court and returned to their locker room.
The Bucks players, coaches and GM Jon Horst met inside their locker room at the Adventhealth Arena at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex, which is a converted equipment storage room, for more than three hours.
“We fully support our players and the decision they made,” Bucks Owners Marc Lasry, Wes Edens and Jamie Dinan. “Although we did not know beforehand, we would have wholeheartedly agreed with them. The only way to bring about change is to shine a light on the racial injustices that are happening in front of us. Our players have done that and we will continue to stand alongside them and demand accountability and change.”
The Bucks franchise has had multiple incidents with police brutality and racial profiling in recent years. Bucks guard Sterling Brown sued the city of Milwaukee after he was injured during an incident with police, and former center John Henson spoke out publicly after he was denied service by a Milwaukee jeweler.
A group of Bucks players turned out for a July protest in Milwaukee with T-shirts that bore some of George Floyd’s last words, “I can’t breathe.” Brown, DiVincenzo, Brook Lopez, Frank Mason III, reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and his brother Thanasis joined the crowd.
Milwaukee’s other pro team quickly followed the Bucks’ lead as the Brewers, who like the Bucks play not far from the Kenosha, Wisc., decided they would not play against the Cincinnati Reds, who agreed to sit out.
“It’s more than sports,” Brewers star reliever Josh Hader said before the Brewers met and decided. “That’s one of the things that’s — it’s not about the game. It’s more than that. This is a time where we need to really not stay quiet and empower our voices. … It’s something that we need to continue to talk about, and it’s something that we can’t put behind. It’s something that all of us, we have to continue to voice and bring light to this situation that we have.”
About an hour before what would have been first pitch, Brewers and Reds players mingled behind the batting cage. The Miller Park scoreboard showed three words, white letters on a black background: “Justice Equality Now.”
"Our team and the Reds felt that with our community and our nation in such pain, tonight we wanted 100 percent of the focus to be on issues that are much more important than baseball," Brewers pitcher Brent Suter, the team's MLBPA representative, told reporters.
As if to underscore the prominent role athletes have in raising societal awareness of police brutality and racial injustice, the players’ strike came on the four-year anniversary of the first time former National Football League quarterback Colin Kaepernick did not stand for the national anthem in protest.
Several NFL players expressed support for the Bucks on social media. “NBA is showing us how it’s done,” wrote Houston Texans wide receiver Kenny Stills, who has frequently knelt during the national anthem. “Time to connect with local activists to help formulate demands.”
On Tuesday, the Detroit Lions cancelled practice and addressed media while huddled around a white board reading, "The World Can't Go On."
Wednesday night, many NFL players expressed support for the Bucks on social media. “NBA is showing us how it’s done,” wrote Houston Texans wide receiver Kenny Stills, who has frequently knelt during the national anthem. “Time to connect with local activists to help formulate demands.”
Game 5 between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets as well as Game 5 for the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers were also scheduled for Wednesday. Those games will be rescheduled, the NBA said in a statement.
The Bucks and Magic were scheduled to play the first game of a playoff triple-header on Wednesday with a scheduled tip time of 4 p.m. But only the Magic took the court for the traditional pregame warm-ups, with the Bucks remaining in their locker room. When the game clock ticked down to a few minutes before the scheduled tip-off, the Magic left the court and returned to their locker room.
The Bucks players, coaches and GM Jon Horst met inside their locker room at the Adventhealth Arena at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex, which is a converted equipment storage room, for more than three hours.
“We fully support our players and the decision they made,” Bucks Owners Marc Lasry, Wes Edens and Jamie Dinan. “Although we did not know beforehand, we would have wholeheartedly agreed with them. The only way to bring about change is to shine a light on the racial injustices that are happening in front of us. Our players have done that and we will continue to stand alongside them and demand accountability and change.”
The Bucks franchise has had multiple incidents with police brutality and racial profiling in recent years. Bucks guard Sterling Brown sued the city of Milwaukee after he was injured during an incident with police, and former center John Henson spoke out publicly after he was denied service by a Milwaukee jeweler.
A group of Bucks players turned out for a July protest in Milwaukee with T-shirts that bore some of George Floyd’s last words, “I can’t breathe.” Brown, DiVincenzo, Brook Lopez, Frank Mason III, reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and his brother Thanasis joined the crowd.
Milwaukee’s other pro team quickly followed the Bucks’ lead as the Brewers, who like the Bucks play not far from the Kenosha, Wisc., decided they would not play against the Cincinnati Reds, who agreed to sit out.
“It’s more than sports,” Brewers star reliever Josh Hader said before the Brewers met and decided. “That’s one of the things that’s — it’s not about the game. It’s more than that. This is a time where we need to really not stay quiet and empower our voices. … It’s something that we need to continue to talk about, and it’s something that we can’t put behind. It’s something that all of us, we have to continue to voice and bring light to this situation that we have.”
About an hour before what would have been first pitch, Brewers and Reds players mingled behind the batting cage. The Miller Park scoreboard showed three words, white letters on a black background: “Justice Equality Now.”
"Our team and the Reds felt that with our community and our nation in such pain, tonight we wanted 100 percent of the focus to be on issues that are much more important than baseball," Brewers pitcher Brent Suter, the team's MLBPA representative, told reporters.
As if to underscore the prominent role athletes have in raising societal awareness of police brutality and racial injustice, the players’ strike came on the four-year anniversary of the first time former National Football League quarterback Colin Kaepernick did not stand for the national anthem in protest.
Several NFL players expressed support for the Bucks on social media. “NBA is showing us how it’s done,” wrote Houston Texans wide receiver Kenny Stills, who has frequently knelt during the national anthem. “Time to connect with local activists to help formulate demands.”
On Tuesday, the Detroit Lions cancelled practice and addressed media while huddled around a white board reading, "The World Can't Go On."
Wednesday night, many NFL players expressed support for the Bucks on social media. “NBA is showing us how it’s done,” wrote Houston Texans wide receiver Kenny Stills, who has frequently knelt during the national anthem. “Time to connect with local activists to help formulate demands.”
