On Wednesday, Aug. 26, players from six different National Basketball Association (NBA) teams decided to boycott and not participate in their postseason games. Some games in the Major League Baseball (MLB), Major League Soccer (MLS) and Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) were canceled due to these same boycotts. Players decided to protest the shooting by the police in Kenosha, Wisconsin. This shooting killed Jacob Blake, a Black man, while his three children watched. 

These series of boycotts were started by the Milwaukee Bucks. They refused to leave the locker room and play in their game against the Orlando Magic on Aug. 26th. The Magic players and the referees were on the court ready to play and expected to play. They were unaware that the Bucks were not going to take the floor. 

Orlando guard Michael Carter-Williams said, “We weren’t given advanced notice about the decision but we are happy to stand in solidarity with Milwaukee, Jacob, and the entire NBA community.

The Buck’s owners, Marc Lasry, Wes Edens and Jamie Dinan also said they did not know what was going to happen beforehand, but they “would have wholeheartedly agreed with them.” They also talked on the matter in a joined statement, “The only way to bring about change is to shine a light on the racial injustices that are happening in front of us.”

Sterling Brown, a guard that plays for the Bucks, also decided to speak out on the game and spoke out on the team’s behalf saying, “There has been no action, so our focus today cannot be on basketball.” 

This movement caused many other players and coaches to speak out on this matter. The NBA Coaches association spoke out and said, “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.”

Several NBA players used their platforms to demand change. “Players have, once again, made it clear — they will not be silent on this issue,” National Basketball Players Association Executive Director Michele Roberts said.

As the week progressed many players wrestled with whether they should play or not. Many players feared that playing and returning to the normal schedule might take attention away from the deaths of recent and past deaths like Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. After deciding whether to play or not many teams ended up Boycotting along with the Bucks. 

Games that boycotted were the NBA playoff games between Oklahoma City and Houston, and the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland along with three WNBA games, three MLB games and five MLS matches. Two members of the St. Louis Cardinals sat out during their teams game, and so did two of the Kansas City Royals players as well.