The sports world on Wednesday was rocked by protests in response to the recent shooting of Jacob Blake, a black man, by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The upheaval began when the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks refused to play their playoff game against the Orlando Magic. Soon after, the remaining NBA playoff games on Wednesday were canceled. After this move, the Milwaukee Brewers decided as a team not to play their planned home game against the Reds on Wednesday night. The Reds, in turn, agreed not to play, which means the Brewers wouldn’t be forced to lose.
Twelve of MLB’s originally scheduled 15 games were played on Wednesday, but other teams and individual players joined the Brewers in protest. Here are the three games that weren’t played:
MLB released the following statement on Wednesday night:
“Given the pain in the Wisconsin communities and beyond after the shooting of Jacob Blake, we respect a number of players’ decisions not to play tonight. Major League Baseball continues to advocate change in our society and we become allies be in battle. ” End racism and injustice. “
Earlier on Wednesday ESPN’s Jeff Passan tweeted that the Mariners seemed ready to decide against a street game against the San Diego Padres. Passan noted that the Mariners have the most black players of any current MLB roster, and they actually decided not to step on the field in San Diego:
Seattle veteran Dee Gordon tweeted this The team’s decision not to play was unanimous.
Jim Bowden, HQ analyst for CBS Sports, reported that the Giants and Dodgers wouldn’t play as planned on Wednesday night either. Giants manager Gabe Kapler strongly suggested that his team could decide against an earlier game.
While most of the MLB games were played on Wednesday night, some players decided to stand in protest while their teams played. That group included Cubs veteran Jason Heyward, who after speaking with manager David Ross decided not to play. Jordan Bastian from MLB.com said that Heyward encouraged his teammates to play the Tigers without him.
Matt Kemp also posted the following statement before his Rockies teammates took the field against the Diamondbacks:
Before the Cardinals’ home game against the Royals, the club released the following statement on Dexter Fowler and Jack Flaherty:
The protests stem from the shooting of Blake, a 29-year-old black man, by police in Kenosha, about 40 miles south of Milwaukee.
According to the video, police shot Blake several times in the back as he tried to get into his vehicle. Blake remains in the hospital in serious condition, and family lawyers say he is now paralyzed. Blake’s shots come after weeks of unrest and protests following the murder of George Floyd, another black man, by Minneapolis police. Tensions over the Blake protests tragically escalated when an Illinois teenager allegedly shot and killed two protesters Tuesday night.
Events on Wednesday would already dominate the conversation in MLB, and the inconsistent reactions to the Blake shoot and the Bucks decision not to play will no doubt reinforce and intensify that dialogue in the days and weeks to come.
