NBA Players in Strike to Protest the Police Shooting of Jacob Blake
All the playoff games scheduled for 26 August were postponed.
NBA as seen one of the strongest protests against the inhuman racial injustice. Milwaukee Bucks squad has refused to take to the court to protest the police shooting of Jacob Blake. Soon after, the NBA decided to postpone all three final series games for a while. Celebrities have responded positively to the protest over social media platforms.
For those of you who are unaware, Jacob Blake is a Black man who was shot up to seven times in the back this Sunday by the police officers in Wisconsin city of Kenosha. Though he is alive, his lawyer says it’s unlikely that he will ever walk again. The footage of the incident went viral quickly, and it was bad for the US, a country already reeling from the death of another black man, George Floyd, by a white police officer.
Players of the Milwaukee Bucks squad decided to stay off the field before their scheduled match against Orlando Magic. Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted that the strike of the players was a direct response to the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
Footage from the Orlando coronavirus bubble of the league showed an empty court where Game 5 of the series was supposed to happen while behind the scenes video showed staff packing away equipment.
Soon after, the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association have announced that all three games, Milwaukee vs. Orlando, Los Angeles Lakers vs. Portland and Houston vs. Oklahoma City will be rescheduled.
Many NBA personalities like Alex Lasry, SVP of the Bucks, LeBron James have supported the NBA players’ decision to strike and protest the police shooting of Jacob Blake. Here are some of the tweets.
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
FUCK THIS MAN!!!! WE DEMAND CHANGE. SICK OF IT
— LeBron James (@KingJames) August 26, 2020
This shit bigger than basketball! Whoever don’t understand that is part of the problem.
— DeMar DeRozan (@DeMar_DeRozan) August 26, 2020
I swear its not that hard to understand that WE as human beings just want to be treated equal … and if u don’t understand that then im sorry for your ignorance …
— Mikal Bridges (@mikal_bridges) August 26, 2020
Respect! ✊🏾
— LaMarcus Aldridge (@aldridge_12) August 26, 2020
Just in case you forgot‼️#BiggerThanBasketball pic.twitter.com/NX4CcD9v1E
— John Wall (@JohnWall) August 26, 2020
Proud of our players! @Nba
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) August 26, 2020
Proud of my brothers✊🏻@Bucks @NBA #NecessaryGoodTrouble #EnoughIsEnough pic.twitter.com/sYOos4prW8
— Pau Gasol (@paugasol) August 26, 2020
We Demand Change. We so sick of this!!!
— Robert Covington (@Holla_At_Rob33) August 26, 2020
This walk-off to protest the police shooting of Jacob Blake came a day after the Head Coach of Los Angeles Clippers, Doc Rivers had shared an emotional message with the press that talked about police violence.
It seems that the police shooting of Jacob Blake would be in the news for a while, and the US law enforcement needs to be ready for some more protests like those happened after the death of George Floyd.
Jacob Blake.