The act is as strong as it is unprecedented in American professional sport: protesting against the shooting of the police on Jacob Blake, the Milwaukee Bucks boycotted their playoff game on Wednesday August 26, followed by other baseball teams, Cincinnati football and tennis tournament.
Never seen. In a few hours, the movement launched by the basketball players of Milwaukee spread oil, after having forced the National Basketball Association (NBA) to postpone two other meetings also scheduled for Wednesday, Houston-Oklahoma City and Los Angeles-Portland, the players of these teams having also opted for a boycott. Sign that the movement persists, the NBA announced the postponement of the three playoff games scheduled for Thursday, the day after the boycott decided by the players. The instance says “Hope to resume the game on Friday or Saturday”.
These actions have already earned the basketball league a comment from US President Donald Trump, the latter accusing him of having become “A political organization”.
It was first the Brewers – like the Bucks in Milwaukee, about fifty miles from Kenosha, where Sunday’s drama took place – who followed suit by refusing to play against Cincinnati. Two other Major League Baseball (MLB) games have been postponed. Ditto in MLS, the North American football league, where five of the six games on the program were boycotted by the players.
Then, after the Japanese Naomi Osaka decided not to play her semi-final of the Cincinnati tournament, relocated to New York, the event’s organizers in turn decided to postpone the matches scheduled for Thursday until Friday. “Tennis collectively takes a stand against the racial inequality and social injustice that once again has come to the fore in the United States. The American Tennis Federation (USTA), the ATP and WTA circuits have decided to recognize this moment by stopping play ”, they said.
New shock
Is the postponement of the matches from Thursday to Friday likely to reintegrate Osaka into the tournament, if it so wishes? Asked by Agence France-Presse (AFP), the USTA did not give an immediate response.
“As a black woman, I feel like there are much more important issues that need immediate attention, rather than watching me play tennis,” justified the 22-year-old young woman, born to a Japanese mother and a Haitian father, and who has often spoken in recent months to denounce racial injustice.
NBA players are the most proactive in this field. The kneeling down during the national anthem, the words “Black Lives Matter” painted black on the floors, the slogans on the back of the players’ shirts, their regular speeches to demand justice were since the resumption of the season proof of the mobilization within the league to work against racism.
But three months after George Floyd’s death, the fate of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old African-American seriously injured during his arrest, caused further shock. The basketball players were traumatized by the scene filmed in which we hear seven shots hitting in the back this father who was trying, after resisting his arrest, to enter his car where, according to his lawyer, three were found. of his sons aged 3, 5 and 8.
“We can’t focus on basketball”
“In the last few days in our state of Wisconsin we have seen the terrible video of Jacob Blake and the additional shooting at protesters. Despite the overwhelming plea for change, there is no action so we cannot focus on basketball today ”, have justified the Bucks players.
Their decision surprised the Orlando Magic players, who said no “Not having been aware of the initiative, while adhering to it”, and Barack Obama congratulated on Twitter “Players who stand up for what they believe in”, adding: “All our institutions will have to defend our values. “
In the wake of this first boycott, the Lakers superstar, LeBron James, then tweeted : “WE CALL FOR CHANGE. WE ARE FED UP “, announcing the sequel.
However, according to ESPN TV and the site The Athletic, At a meeting Wednesday night, he and his teammates, as well as the Los Angeles Clippers team, voted for the outright end of the NBA season, unlike other teams still affected by the playoffs.
Discussions are set to resume on Thursday, as the league will hold a board of directors, involving executives and franchise owners, to “Respond to the concerns of players”. Three matches are scheduled for Thursday. No one knows for now whether they will be boycotted or whether the season will continue.
