THE National Basketball Association (NBA) postponed three Game 5 series on Wednesday (Thursday in the Philippines) after the Milwaukee Bucks decided to boycott their playoff game in response to the shooting of Black man Jacob Blake by police in the team’s home state of Wisconsin.
Blake was shot seven times in front of his children on Aug. 23. His father announced on Aug. 25 that Blake was paralyzed from the waist down and that doctors do not know yet if it will be permanent.
“The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association 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 â Bucks vs. Magic, Houston Rockets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Lakers vs. Portland Trail Blazers â have been postponed. Game 5 of each series will be rescheduled,” the NBA said in a statement.
âThere has been no action, so our focus today cannot be on basketball,â said Bucks guard Sterling Brown, who joined teammate George Hill in reading a statement on the teamâs behalf.
Brown has a federal lawsuit pending against the city of Milwaukee alleging he was targeted because he was Black and that his civil rights were violated in Jan. 2018 when police officers used a stun gun on him after a parking violation.
During the emergency meeting among the players later in the day, LeBron James and the Lakers as well as the Los Angeles Clippers voted to abandon the NBA playoffs.
Aside from NBA, some games in Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer and the three Womenâs NBA contests were also boycotted by players./PN
