DENVER -- The police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wis., sparked another fire throughout the country and it’s touched virtually every professional U.S. sports league.
So Denver7 went 360 with the calls for justice from Colorado sports teams.
You’ll hear from the manager of the Colorado Rockies, Bud Black. A fan who say he’s learned from player’s protest. Viewer reactions into the 360 email inbox, as well as a fan speaking out against people’s criticism of games being postponed.
"In light of the last 48 hours it’s obviously been turbulent right, across the country," said Bud Black.
For the Rockies manager, many athletes — along with the country — have reached a breaking point.
"These are times when conversations are happening and emotions are being shown and I think these are good things because we’re talking about situations in our country that are real and need to change," said Black.
Late Thursday afternoon, the Rockies postponed their game against the Arizona Diamondbacks as did the NHL and Avalanche after a big playoff win just one day earlier.
The Broncos canceled practice.
The Colorado Rapids, along with the entire MLS, have postponed games as well.
All following the lead from the Milwaukee Bucks and NBA, which postponed playoff action Wednesday and then extended that to Thursday games, including the Nuggets.
Nuggets player, Michael Porter Jr., shared his perspective on the matter, writing:
"Realizing the stuff going on in the world is way bigger than basketball. For us, I feel like people look up to us, when we talk about these things it’s good for the world to realize how much it means to us, too," said Porter Jr.
"I’m a big NBA fan so I was kind of upset about it but once I saw the reasoning and everything, then I understood," said Zach Henry.
Henry admits the player’s message stuck with him.
"Well, it actually kind of opened my eyes because I didn’t even...—I hadn’t heard about the shooting yet or anything, so once I heard the NBA games got canceled then I kind of looked it up and saw what they canceled it for," said Henry.
But that’s not exactly the case on social media and for people who wrote into the 360 inbox.
Rose writes, “Bring in players who do want to play. They’re just spoiled brats.”
Roy also says in part, "Those athletes are spoiled and should be ashamed to disrespect the American flag. No wonder the rating are shot for sports nowadays."
For Nathan Kennedy, those messages carry no weight in finding a solution.
"A lot of people really look at things through a small scope so they don’t really realize how hurtful their words can be, and for them to be confident enough and proud enough in their beliefs to be outspoken about it is just really embarrassing, honestly," said Kennedy.
The debate rages on, especially as teams and leagues decide when it is appropriate to resume play.
Editor's Note: Denver7 360 stories explore multiple sides of the topics that matter most to Coloradans, bringing in different perspectives so you can make up your own mind about the issues. To comment on this or other 360 stories, email us at 360@TheDenverChannel.com. See more 360 stories here.
