Following a boycott by the Milwaukee Bucks, the NBA playoff games were canceled for a second straight day on Friday. However, the league is optimistic about resuming games over the weekend after players voted to continue the season.
After a dramatic day in the NBA’s Orlando Bubble on Thursday, the fate of the season remained in the balance after the goats failed to show up in protest at the police shooting of African American Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The NBA had to postpone all three playoff games after Thursday’s unprecedented boycott of Milwaukee.
At a meeting with players from all teams on Wednesday, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, as well as the Los Angeles Clippers, voted to end the season.
However, a more conciliatory mood emerged at another player meeting early Friday and the teams agreed to move on. James and the Lakers were reportedly “on board” with the decision.
In a statement following a meeting of the NBA board of governors, the league said the games could resume as early as Saturday.
“Today (Friday) NBA playoff games are not playing as planned,” said Mike Bass, executive vice president of the league.
“We hope to be able to restart the games either on Friday or Saturday.”
A video conference with players from the 13 teams in Orlando, as well as representatives from the National Basketball Players Association, the league office and the NBA Labor Relations Committee chairman, and basketball legend Michael Jordan will be held later Friday to discuss next steps.
“Hear the pain”
Thursday’s dramatic boycott of Milwaukee sparked shock waves in US sports and prompted a number of other professional leagues to follow suit.
Three Major League Baseball games were canceled before they started, while Major League Soccer had postponed five of six games.
In tennis, the ATP and WTA tours announced that Thursday’s game at the Western & Southern Open in New York was canceled and the event resumed on Friday.
The WNBA Women’s Basketball League postponed its playlist for a second straight day on Thursday.
Some NFL teams also canceled training camps on Thursday as they prepared for the start of their new season.
“How can you hear the pain blacks go through and dismiss it as nothing?” Cincinnati Bengals rookie quarterback Joey Burrow said on Twitter.
“How can you hear the pain and respond with something other than ‘I’m with you’?” he added.
Milwaukee’s demonstration of athlete activism was supported by former US Olympic sprinter John Carlos.
Carlos, who was excluded from the 1968 Olympics in Mexico with teammate Tommie Smith after his legendary black power salute on the medal podium, said Wednesday’s protests were the latest chapter in “a story of blacks who support them Fight causes and same situations. ”
“I admire, respect, and value these young people’s vision to take the initiative and say that life is valued far more than trophies and championships and anything basketball-related,” Carlos told USA Today.
NBA ‘GAME POLICY’
But there was a predictably cool reaction to Donald Trump’s NBA activism. The US leader, who has repeatedly grappled with African American athletes since taking office, accused the league of playing politics.
“I don’t know much about the NBA protest. I know their ratings were very bad because I think people are a little fed up with the NBA, “Trump said in Washington.
“They have become like a political organization and that is not a good thing.”
Meanwhile, Lakers superstar James took to Twitter to urge voters to stand up for the November presidential election.
“Change doesn’t just happen through talking! It happens with action and has to happen NOW! “James wrote on Twitter.
After the police murder of the unarmed black man George Floyd in May in Minneapolis, demands for racial equality across basketball have increased.
The NBA season, halted by the coronavirus, resumed last month in Florida amid nationwide protests following Floyd’s death.
NBA teams kneeled in protest while playing the US national anthem before the game, while the words “Black Lives Matter” were painted on every game in Florida.
Players, many of whom participated in protests against Floyd’s murder, were allowed to wear jerseys with messages of social justice.
– AFP
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