Athletes around the US are boycotting games over Jacob Blake's shooting
Jill Martin, Leah Asmelash and David Close
LA Lakers star and basketball legend LeBron James joined dozens of his fellow athletes in pledging solidarity with the players' strikes and demanding an end to systemic racism.
James demanded change on Twitter on Wednesday evening, as the Bucks' walkout led to a flood of similar strikes and the postponement of the NBA playoffs.
"It's very troubling," he added in a video tweeted out by the Lakers. "We play a beautiful game which brings so many great families together ... but at the same time, never losing track of what's really going on in our world."
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green added on Thursday: "Making headlines is great. The attention has been grabbed. Now the next steps are more important now than ever."
What began as the Milwaukee Bucks' decision to boycott their playoff game following the police shooting of Jacob Blake in the team's home state cascaded into a wave of similar protests across the American sports scene by Wednesday night.
Soon after the Wisconsin-based team decided to not play, the NBA announced it would postpone Game 5 of three different playoff series — Bucks vs. Orlando Magic, Houston Rockets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Lakers vs. Portland Trail Blazers.
Within hours, three WNBA, five Major League Soccer and three Major League Baseball games were called off as athletes acted in solidarity with the Bucks' players.
Blake, a Black man, was shot in the back by police on Sunday as he tried to enter his vehicle in Kenosha, Wisconsin. His shooting became the latest incident to prompt outrage nationwide over racial injustice and police brutality.
Thursday, August 27, 2020, CNN
I commend the players on the @Bucks or standing up for what they believe in, coaches like @Doc Rivers, and the @NBA and WNBA for setting an example. It’s going to take all our institutions to stand up for our values.
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