NBA
NBA Playoff Games are Postponed
Milwaukee Bucks boycotted their NBA Playoffs game that has major ripple effects across the sports universe
Kevin C. Cox, Pool Photo via AP
This afternoon, the scheduled Bucks-Magic game was postponed due to the Milwaukee Bucks refusing to leave their locker room for the start of the game, effectively boycotting Game 5 vs. the Orlando Magic. The Milwaukee Bucks decided to protest the shooting of Jacob Blake by a white police officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin. These actions sent ripple effects across the sports world as the rest of the NBA’s playoff games have been postponed until further notice and three MLB games on Wednesday were also postponed.
The NBA and the NBPA today announced that in light of the Milwaukee Bucks’ decision to not take the floor today for Game 5 against the Orlando Magic, today’s three games – MIL-ORL, HOU-OKC and LAL-POR have been postponed. Game 5 of each series will be rescheduled.
— NBA (@NBA) August 26, 2020
George Hill, Sterling Brown, and the Milwaukee Bucks read a statement that professed, “When we take the court and represent Milwaukee and Wisconsin, we are expected to play at a high level, give maximum effort and hold each other accountable… In this moment, we are demanding the same from our lawmakers and law enforcement.”
The NBA and NBPA decided to postpone all Game 5 games for another day, effectively pushing back the POR-LAL and HOU-LAL games. Multiple MLB teams/players also followed suit, postponing three games for the day. NBA players and athletes have made it clear that their focus was not on sports and are more than willing to use their platform to not only bring attention to the social injustice in America, but also put pressure on the decision-makers to make changes to the system that clearly needs it.
The biggest takeaway from these unprecedented actions comes from a quote by Washington Nationals RP Sean Doolittle, “sports are like the reward of a functional society.” These killings and shootings that have gone on for far too long highlight the disfunction that is occurring right now that is much bigger than sports.
It remains to be seen if the NBA will postpone upcoming playoff games or scrap it all together. A meeting is to be held by the NBA board of governors at 11 a.m. on Thursday to discuss the players protest of systemic racism. NBA players are also planning on meeting at 11 a.m. as these will hopefully bring light as to how the league and players plan on proceeding.
There is now pressure on the NBA owners and league office to enact actions and communicate how staying in the bubble, and continuing to play games will bring about the change the players and the nation are looking for.
The meeting is 11 AM -- coinciding with the timing of the NBA's Board of Governors call, per sources. https://t.co/U8NnY4QMPb
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 27, 2020
Credit to Leeban Dabir who also contributed to this article.
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