The NBA has postponed all of its Wednesday playoff games as players boycott in wake of Jacob Blake being shot in Wisconsin.
Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, was shot from behind seven times by a police officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Aug. 23.
The games that were scheduled to happen in Orlando were postponed after several teams chose to boycott against racial injustice.
The games between the Milwaukee Bucks and Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets, and the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trailblazers were called off.
In a statement on its website, the NBA said the games would be rescheduled, but no date has been set.
Well, now it seems the NBA's Board of Governors will meet Thursday morning at 10 a.m. CT, according to Yahoo! Sports' Vincent Goodwill.
Sources to @YahooSports: Board of governors meeting scheduled for 11 AM ET. So the Clippers and Lakers power move is giving the owners a timeline on a plan
— Vincent Goodwill (@VinceGoodwill) August 27, 2020
After the news broke that the games had been postponed, several players called for a meeting to determine next steps.
Well, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania things turned ugly with the Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers voting to boycott the season.
Sources: Miami's Udonis Haslem spoke and essentially told everyone in room that -- without Lakers and Clippers, how will season continue?
LeBron James walked out. Rest of Lakers and Clippers exited behind him.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 27, 2020
The Bucks were the first team to boycott after they decided to not come out of their locker room before taking on the Magic, ESPN's Rachel Nichols said in a tweet.
The Bucks didn't come out of the locker room for their game against Orlando & now the Magic have left the court. Players around the NBA Bubble have been discussing boycotting games in the wake of the Jacob Blake shooting. @WojESPN says NBA officials are now talking to the Bucks.
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) August 26, 2020
TMJ4's Lance Allan reported that neither team was on the floor as the pregame countdown clock hit zero.
Just moments ago @fswisconsin showed the clock hit 0.0 and both teams @Bucks and @OrlandoMagic are not on the floor. This is a true breaking news situation #Bucks
— Lance Allan (@lanceallan) August 26, 2020
“Some things are bigger than basketball,” Bucks senior vice president Alex Lasry tweeted. “The stand taken today by the players and (the organization) shows that we’re fed up. Enough is enough. Change needs to happen. I’m incredibly proud of our guys and we stand 100% behind our players ready to assist and bring about real change.”
Some things are bigger than basketball. The stand taken today by the players and org shows that we’re fed up. Enough is enough. Change needs to happen. I’m incredibly proud of our guys and we stand 100% behind our players ready to assist and bring about real change
— Alex Lasry (@AlexanderLasry) August 26, 2020
In a statement, the owners of the Bucks said they support the decision their players made.
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) August 26, 2020
The Oklahoma City Thunder also released a statement saying they supported their players' decision.
Statement from the OKC Thunder:
The Thunder respects and supports our players peacefully bringing awareness to the critical issues happening in our country. Our organization will continue to work relentlessly to create meaningful change.
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) August 27, 2020
NBA analyst Kenny Smith walked out of the set of "NBA on TNT" in solidarity with the NBA players and their protest against police brutality.
.@TheJetOnTNT stands with the NBA players. pic.twitter.com/39Sby1D5kn
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) August 26, 2020
"The NBA Coaches support our players 100%," the NBA Coaches Association said in a tweet. "The restart happened largely because of the platform it provided. The baseless shootings of Jacob Blake and other black men and women by law enforcement underscores the need for action. Not after the playoffs, not in the future, but now."
According to the Atlanta Dream, Wednesday's WNBA games were also postponed as part of the protests spanning the sports world in protest for racial justice.
Center @E_Williams_1 reads statement on @espn as the representative for all @WNBA players. Tonight's games have been cancelled. pic.twitter.com/xDz4uCQSiD
— Atlanta Dream (@AtlantaDream) August 26, 2020
Following the news of the games being postponed, the National Basketball Referees Association released a statement:
The NBRA stands in solidarity with our players' decision to boycott tonight’s games in protest of the continued unjustified killing of black men and women by law enforcement. There are more important issues in our country than basketball and we hope this will inspire change.
Before their game was postponed, Lakers superstar LeBron James tweeted out his frustration.
FUCK THIS MAN!!!! WE DEMAND CHANGE. SICK OF IT
— LeBron James (@KingJames) August 26, 2020
The Lakers also are demanding justice for Blake.
Demand Justice pic.twitter.com/AzBIxP9ZqT
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) August 27, 2020
Earlier in the week, Bucks guard George Hill vented his frustration at social injustice following Blake's shooting.
“We can’t do anything," Hill said. "First of all, we shouldn’t have even came to this damn place to be honest. I think coming here just took all the focal points off of what the issues are. But we’re here, so it is what it is. We can’t do anything from right here but I think definitely when it’s all settled, some things need to be done. I think this world has to change. I think our police department has to change. Us as a society has to change. Right now we’re not seeing any of that. Lives are being taken as we speak day in and day out. There’s no consequence or accountability for it, and that’s what has to change.”
Wednesday also marks the fourth anniversary of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick's first anthem protest when he sat during the playing of the national anthem to protest racial inequality.
