In this time of racial and social injustice, NBA players have been speaking up and out against issues they feel are plaguing our times. Until now, the players haven’t let these social injustices impact their production on the court.
The Bucks, however, are the first team to take action through inaction.
When the time on the game clock hit zero, the Bucks players were nowhere to be found, and it was soon revealed by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that the Bucks would be boycotting the game.
The Milwaukee Bucks have decided to boycott Game 5, source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 26, 2020
The Milwaukee Bucks still haven't come out to the court for Game 6 with the Orlando Magic and there's been some discussion within the Bucks about a boycott, sources tell @malika_andrews and me. NBA officials have gone into the Milwaukee locker room.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 26, 2020
The boycott is in response to the shooting of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man who was shot in the back multiple times by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The Bucks players made this decision in the wake of the Jacob Blake shooting in Wisconsin, ultimately deciding that they wouldn't leave the locker room for the start of Game 5 against Orlando. https://t.co/COJ6E0aJLj
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 26, 2020
In an earlier report by Yahoo! Sports, players around the association were feeling guilty about potentially drowning out the incident by performing.
There is ongoing dialogue on what more could be done inside the bubble to raise awareness of racial injustice in an effort to enact change and thwart police brutality toward people of color, sources said.
A comment made earlier this week by Milwaukee’s George Hill should also be noted:
“We shouldn’t have even come to this damn place, to be honest,”George Hill said on Monday. “I think coming here just took all the focal points off what the issues are.”
The repercussions of the boycott have yet to be revealed, but we can expect other teams to follow-through all around the league.
How the NBA will handle this remains to be seen.
