It’s been a historic day in the world of professional sports. After much discussion in recent days about the possibility of NBA players sitting out upcoming games as a form of protest to the latest police shooting involving an unarmed black man, players formed a unified front and decided to postpone Wednesday’s playoff games.
The Bucks kicked things off when they refused to play Game 5 against the Orlando Magic, and the Rockets and Thunder quickly followed suit, marking a historic moment in the fight for social justice and the Black Lives Matter movement across America that has taken hold the past several months. Some MLB teams in the Brewers and Mariners followed suit, and as the WNBA prepared for games in the Wubble at IMG Academy there were various reports of how they would proceed.
After initially planning to play and protesting by stopping play every seven minutes, players decided to join the NBA in sitting out the night’s games, as teams joined each other on the court to take a knee in shirts spelling out Jacob Blake’s name.
The scene from the WNBA bubble, where no games will be held tonight pic.twitter.com/PvM4OFJSXT
— Kelyn Soong (@KelynSoong) August 26, 2020
Elizabeth Williams then read an official statement about the cancellation on ESPN.
Center @E_Williams_1 reads statement on @espn as the representative for all @WNBA players. Tonight’s games have been cancelled. pic.twitter.com/xDz4uCQSiD
— Atlanta Dream (@AtlantaDream) August 26, 2020
Ariel Atkins of the Mystics also spoke about her team’s decision not to play.
Ariel Atkins, on the Mystics’ decision to not play tonight.
(📹:@WashMystics)pic.twitter.com/9o2DJiXtVr
— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) August 27, 2020
It’s a watershed moment for the NBA, the WNBA, and the world of pro sports in general. We’ll learn more about what the NBA plans to do moving forward after a player meeting on Wednesday night, but it’s clear that across the country, players are in lockstep with the importance of this moment and movement.
