An unprecedented event is taking place as players from several pro-sports leagues declared they would boycott their games to take a stand against racism and police brutality.
On Wednesday afternoon, players from the N.B.A, W.N.B.A, Major League Soccer, and Major League Baseball boycotted their games in the wake of the shooting of Jacob Blake — a Black man who was shot several times in the back by a white police officer.
The protest has now cast doubt on whether the N.B.A and W.N.B.A will proceed with games scheduled in the future.
As the boycotts were announced, former President Barack Obama took to Twitter to share his support of the players. He wrote, “I commend the players on the @Bucks for standing up for what they believe in, coaches like @DocRivers, and the @NBA and @WNBA for setting an example.”
“It’s going to take all our institutions to stand up for our values,” he added.
I commend the players on the @Bucks for standing up for what they believe in, coaches like @DocRivers, and the @NBA and @WNBA for setting an example. It’s going to take all our institutions to stand up for our values. pic.twitter.com/rUGETgAt7P
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 27, 2020
Obama also shared a video of the Los Angeles Clippers’ Head Coach Doc River addressing the shooting of Blake, “All you hear is Donald Trump and all of them talking about fear. We’re the ones getting killed. We’re the ones getting shot. We’re the ones that we’re denied to live in certain communities. We’ve been hung. We’ve been shot. And all you do is keep hearing about fear.”
“It’s amazing why we keep loving this country, and this country does not love us back. And it’s really so sad,” he added.
The Department of Justice has launched an investigation into the shooting of Blake.
Law enforcement officials in Wisconsin say they recovered a knife in Blake’s car on the driver’s side floorboard of his vehicle, and that he told officers he had a knife prior to the shooting.
He was shot several times after walked to the car, opened the driver’s side door, and leaned into the car. However, officials did not say if the knife played a role in the officer shooting Blake — which has left him paralyzed.
Blake’s lawyer said his client did not pose a risk to officers and questioned whether he was in possession of a knife.
