The Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds agreed not to play their game Wednesday night at Miller Park to protest the Wisconsin police shooting of Jacob Blake.
And the Seattle Mariners won’t play hosts San Diego Padres on Wednesday night after the Mariners players agreed to postpone the game. Additionally, the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants will not be playing their scheduled game in San Francisco.
“Given the pain in the Wisconsin communities and beyond following the shooting of Jacob Blake, we respect a number of players’ decisions not to play tonight,” Major League Baseball said in a statement. “Major League Baseball continues to advocate change in our society and we will be allies in the fight against racism and injustice.”
The Mariners have the most black players of any team in the MLB, and second baseman Dee Gordon shared his thoughts on the move on Twitter.
Instead of watching us, we hope people focus on the things that are more important than the sport that is happening.
– Dee Strange-Gordon
– Dee Gordon (@FlashGJr) August 26, 2020
The Brewers-Reds game was postponed after the Brewers met on the day of the three NBA playoff games following the postponement. Milwaukee Bucks players refused to speak in protest of the shooting.
“The Brewers and Reds players have decided not to play today’s baseball game,” players from both teams said in a joint statement. “With our community and our nation in such pain, we wanted to draw so much attention to the really important issues, especially racial injustice and systemic oppression.”
Ryan Braun of Milwaukee said the Bucks decision inspired the Brewers to act.
“That motivated us. … At some point, actions speak louder than words,” said Braun in a video press conference. “Because this happened so close to our home, it hits us differently than other teams.”
Braun said the team’s intention was to continue the season as planned, but “that was our top priority today.”
Blake, a black man, was shot and killed seven times by police on Sunday. Blake was shot dead trying to enter the driver’s door of his vehicle with three of his children. The video of the shooting was broadcast on social media.
The brewery’s star reliever Josh Hader told reporters ahead of the meeting that the Bucks decision was “a tremendous booth,” MLB.com reported.
“It’s more than sport,” said Hader. “This is a time when we really don’t have to stay calm and [to] strengthen our voices. “
A family lawyer said Tuesday that Blake is paralyzed and it would take “a miracle” if he were to walk again.
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