Milwaukee Bucks boycott of game five of the NBA playoffs sparks shutdown of today’s games
The Milwaukee Bucks says that they are boycotting their playoff game in the wake of the police shooting of Jacob Blake, other teams follow suit
After the Milwaukee Bucks boycotted game 5 of their scheduled playoff game against the Orlando Magic today, the rest of the playoff teams that were supposed to take the court today have followed suit, the NBA has confirmed.
The NBA show The Jump says that the games will not be considered forfeitures. The boycott came almost four years to the day that former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick started his controversial anthem protests.
Earlier today, Adrian Wojnarowski and NBA reporter Taylor Rooks were the first to report that the Milwaukee Bucks are boycotting game five of their playoff series vs. the Orlando Magic. The boycott was confirmed by Wojnarowski via his Twitter account.
Read More: Blake family speaks out as second video of shooting surfaces
By 4:54, it was announced that game five of the Oklahoma City Thunder vs. the Houston Rockets playoff game would be boycotted by the teams as well.
The 4 p.m. EST game start time has come and gone and both reporters are saying that that the Bucks, led by their star, Giannis Antetokounmpo, will not take the floor.
The Bucks were up 3-1 in their series against the Orlando Magic when both teams left the floor just before their 4 p.m. start time.
As reported by theGrio, protests have roiled Kenosha, Wisconsin since Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old father was shot by police on Sunday.
Bystander video captured the shooting. It has been reported that Blake was breaking up a fight between two women when he had an encounter with police.
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His father, also named Jacob Blake, says that his son is now paralyzed from the waist down but doctors don’t know if it’s permanent.
Reports, including from the daily ESPN NBA show The Jump are saying that players including Toronto Raptors player Fred Van Vleet, had been discussing a boycott as much as a day ago. Complex also reported yesterday the possibility that the Raptors and Celtics were discussing boycotting Game 1 of their second-round matchup yesterday.
No Bucks players have met with the media yet. Though now in the NBA ‘bubble” at the Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando, Florida, the Bucks play their home games at Fiserv Arena in Milwaukee, about 45 minutes away from Kenosha.
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