The outrage over the shooting of a Black man by police in a town in Wisconsin, earlier this week, is spreading.
Jacob Blake was shot seven times by police in the town of Kenosha in Wisconsin on August 23, triggering protests.
The Milwaukee Bucks, who are based in Wisconsin, boycotted game 5 of their NBA series against the Orlando Magic in Orlando, Florida, on Wednesday. The team issued a statement on the move. "Over the last few days in our home state of Wisconsin, we have seen the horrendous video of Jacob Blake being shot in the back seven times by a police officer in Kenosha and the additional shooting of protesters. Despite the overwhelming plea for change, there has been no action, so our focus today cannot be on basketball," the Milwaukee Bucks said.
The Orlando Magic offered support to the move by the Bucks. “Today we stand united with the NBA Office, the National Basketball Players Association, the Milwaukee Bucks and the rest of the league condemning bigotry, racial injustice and the unwarranted use of violence by police against people of colour,” the Magic said in a statement, reported by Sports Illustrated.
Soon afterwards, "the NBA said the Houston Rockets-Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Lakers-Portland Trail Blazers games (both on Wednesday) would be rescheduled," Reuters reported.
The sentiment spread to other sports leagues also. "Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer and the Women’s NBA also postponed games, while two-times tennis Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka joined the protests by pulling out of a tournament after reaching the semi-finals," Reuters reported.
The NBA boycott could continue and could even affect the season, reported Sports Illustrated. "In a league-wide meeting involving every NBA player Wednesday night, the growing sentiment is that, at the minimum, the three games scheduled for Thursday will not be played, per SI's Chris Mannix. Mannix also reports that, in the meeting, players expressed a desire for owners to make a case that remaining in the bubble and playing will help push issues of voting and police reform forward. If ownership is unable to deliver, the season could be over," Sports Illustrated reported.
Former US president Barack Obama tweeted about the move by the Bucks.
“I commend the players on the @Bucks for standing up for what they believe in, coaches like @DocRivers, and the @NBA and @WNBA for setting an example. It’s going to take all our institutions to stand up for our values,” wrote Obama.
