BREAKING – Players Elect To Resume NBA Playoffs After Protests

Los Angeles Lakers v Boston Celtics
The 2020 NBA Playoffs will resume despite protests from players regarding police brutality and systemic racism. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

After all three games scheduled for tip on Wednesday were boycotted by the players in the wake of the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, the players have opted to resume the season following meetings with both each other and ownership. The Milwaukee Bucks never took the floor for their 1:00 tip with the Orlando Magic, with George Hill in particular having been very vocal about the impact that being in the bubble has had on numerous players as Black people continue to be oppressed and gunned down throughout the country. The WNBA joined in protest as well, and several MLS and MLB teams followed suit. After a meeting this morning, the players made the decision to resume the season, though the games scheduled for today will be postponed:

This has been unprecedented in not only the history of the NBA, but sports in general.  This Lakers season has been unlike any other in history. This team has brought immense delight to so many people. They have been a source of light in what extensively feels like an endless cloud of darkness in 2020. The resumption of the season will be a relief to those who feared they would lose a season that has meant so much to so many, though the issues at hand are far from over.

Owner Jeanie Buss tweeted out her support of the players yesterday, while the Lakers’ twitter account sent out a graphic with the contact information for the Wisconsin DOJ, Kenosha’s DA, and Kenosha’s mayor’s office:

While everyone hopes the season will end with LeBron James and Anthony Davis lifting the Larry O’Brien trophy and bringing it back home to Los Angeles for the first time since 2010, we must follow the players’ directions in searching and fighting for justice. The players will no longer shut up and dribble. They have determined that sports can go hand-in-hand with helping their communities that are under attack. The players have sent the message that simple shirts and social justice messages on the courts are not enough. Only action–real, tangible action– begets change.

If you are disappointed that you will be seeing more messages pushing social justice, be more disappointed that our leaders have let down communities in need, and their inactions that have plagued generations within this country.. If you are appalled that they would even consider leaving the bubble, then you should be more appalled at the inequity and disenfranchisement that Black people have suffered through and the inaction that has plagued generations within this country. If you are worried that people will tell you a title would have an asterisk on it, then you should be worried about the Black mothers, brothers, sisters, and fathers who leave their houses in fear because of the systemic failure of the government and law enforcement to adequately protect and serve Black America.

Now, they have taken that fight to the new bubble harder and stronger than before, making it impossible for the very people who spend time, money, and energy willfully oppressing Black people to ignore them and their message. Actions speak louder than words, and no action could possibly speak louder than what they have done the last couple of days.

UPDATE: The league is hoping to restart the games on Friday, August 28.

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