Date | August 26, 2020 |
---|---|
Location | Canada and United States |
Type | Strike |
Theme | Shooting of Jacob Blake |
Participants | National Basketball Association Women's National Basketball Association Major League Baseball Major League Soccer Women's Tennis Association National Hockey League National Football League |
On August 26, 2020, some professional athletes in the United States began to go on strike for their respective sports contests in response to the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. [1] After the video of Blake's shooting in which he was seriously injured went viral, [2] [3] protests and riots broke out in the city of Kenosha and elsewhere. [4] [5] As a result of the shooting of Blake and the protests which followed, on August 26, professional athletes refused to play in their scheduled sports events, beginning with the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). [6]
Some athletes in the NBA, Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), Major League Baseball (MLB), and Major League Soccer (MLS) decided not to play their games on August 26. [7] Also on that day, the Women's Tennis Association Cincinnati Masters organizers postponed the tournament for one day to August 27, 2020. [7] The strikes extended into August 27 and 28 when players from the National Hockey League (NHL) walked out of their playoff games. [8] In response to the athlete strikes, nine National Football League (NFL) teams canceled their scheduled practices on August 27, 2020. [9] The athlete strikes occurred as part of the broader racial unrest in the United States since 2020. [10]
On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American man, was murdered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, by a white police officer who was arresting Floyd for allegedly using a counterfeit bill. [11] Floyd's murder sparked national and international protests against police brutality, lack of police accountability, and racism. [12] As a result of Floyd's murder, NBA players began wearing T-shirts with the words I Can't Breathe while warming up before their NBA games. [13]
The precedent for the NBA allowing the players to protest wearing the I Can't Breathe T-shirt was set in 2014 after the police killing of Eric Garner. [14]
In response to the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, professional athletes in the United States walked out of and refused to play in their scheduled sporting events. [1]
The broader protests were organized under the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, which advocates non-violent civil disobedience to protest against police brutality and racially motivated violence against black people. [15] [16] [17] The Black Lives Matter logo was displayed on the National Basketball Association (NBA) courts during the 2020 playoffs. [18] When the NBA restarted the 2019–20 season in July 2020, NBA players knelt during the national anthem, with each player wearing a "Black Lives Matter" shirt. [19]
During the 2020 NBA playoffs, players on the Milwaukee Bucks walked out of their August 26 first-round playoff game against the Orlando Magic in protest of the shooting of Jacob Blake. The team decided not to come out of their locker room for the game. It was initially reported the Bucks would forfeit the contest; however, the Magic did not accept the Bucks' forfeiture. [6] The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association announced that in light of the Bucks' decision to refuse to play, all NBA games for the day were postponed. [20] The Toronto Raptors had also discussed a walkout of their second-round playoff series with the Boston Celtics in frustration with a lack of social or legislative change after the murder of George Floyd and as a result of Blake's shooting. [21] In a meeting involving the players that took place later that night, the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers voted to cancel the rest of the tournament in an informal vote. The other NBA teams voted to continue playing. [22] [23]
Sean Roberts, a Republican member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, threatened to pull tax breaks for the Oklahoma City Thunder if they knelt. [24] [25] All of the players and coaches from both the Thunder and the opposing Utah Jazz knelt anyway. [26]
The NBA also postponed their scheduled playoff games for August 28. [27] The playoffs resumed on August 29. [28]
In response to the shooting of Jacob Blake, the Detroit Lions canceled their scheduled practice on August 25. [29] On August 27, nine NFL teams canceled their scheduled practices. [9] Nineteen other NFL teams did continue their scheduled practices. Several teams that did not cancel practice issued statements about unity. The Jacksonville Jaguars decided to cancel their scheduled afternoon activities. [30]
In Major League Baseball on August 26, a game between the Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds was stopped by striking players. [31] Later that day, the Seattle Mariners–San Diego Padres and the Los Angeles Dodgers–San Francisco Giants games were postponed. [32] [33]
On August 27, seven MLB games were postponed as a result of player strikes. At the New York Mets' Citi Field, a Black Lives Matter shirt was placed on home plate. [34] [35]
On a day that was celebrated as Jackie Robinson Day across MLB, [36] the August 28 game between the Houston Astros and Oakland Athletics was postponed, with both teams walking off the field in protest. [37]
The National Hockey League (NHL) players postponed their scheduled games for August 27 and 28. These games were part of the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs. [8]
On August 26, Major League Soccer players staged a walkout of several games to highlight racial injustice. [38] In all, the league canceled five of the six scheduled games for August 26. [39]
Memphis 901 FC declined to travel to North Carolina for a scheduled USL Championship game against North Carolina FC on August 29, and the players instead participated in protests in Memphis. [40]
Forward Madison FC, which played its 2020 home games in Milwaukee, postponed a USL League One game scheduled for August 30 against North Texas SC. [41]
On August 27, the New York Cosmos and Detroit City FC announced that their scheduled game for August 29 would be postponed as both teams took part in protests. [42] The following day, New Amsterdam FC and California United Strikers FC both announced they would not travel for their scheduled August 30 matches against Chattanooga FC and Los Angeles Force respectively. [43] [44]
All six games scheduled for August 26 and 27 were postponed. [45] [46]
On August 26, Naomi Osaka of the Women's Tennis Association announced she would not play in the Cincinnati Open semifinals as part of the protest following the shooting of Jacob Blake. [47] The Western & Southern Open organizers decided to reschedule matches scheduled for August 27 to the following day. [7] In response, Osaka agreed to play her semifinal match, which she won 6–0, 7–6 (5). [48]
Following the lead of professional athletes, several college football programs including Texas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Kentucky, South Florida, Boston College, Western Kentucky, Appalachian State, Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Baylor either canceled practice or staged a walkout on August 27 and 28. [49]
In an August 27 interview with CNN, Marc Short, Chief of Staff to Vice President Mike Pence, said, "If they want to protest, I don't think we care" when commenting on the NBA walkout in support of social justice reforms after the police shooting of Jacob Blake. [50]
On August 27, retired Chicago Bears linebacker and Hall of Famer Brian Urlacher made a post to Instagram criticizing NBA players for staging walkouts of playoff games over the police shooting of Jacob Blake and stating "Patriot Lives Matter", attracting significant criticism. [51] [52] In response to Urlacher's post, the Chicago Bears stated, "the social media posts in no way reflect the values or opinions of the Chicago Bears organization." [53]
Real Salt Lake and Utah Royals owner Dell Loy Hansen criticized players taking part in the strike and stated that "the disrespect is profound to me personally". He also threatened to pull investment from the club. [54] Hansen announced he would sell the club after further allegations of racist comments and behavior were revealed. [55]
There has been disagreement over whether to refer to the player action as a strike or a boycott. When a New York Times headline referred to it as a "boycott", Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York responded on Twitter that "strike" was the proper term. [56] LeBron James used the term "boycott" in response to the National Basketball Players Association calling it a "postponement". [57]
Multiple terms are in use (emphasis added):
Brian Urlacher is an American former professional football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons with the Chicago Bears. He played college football for the New Mexico Lobos, where he received consensus All-American honors as a senior, and was selected ninth overall by the Bears in the 2000 NFL draft.
Inside the NBA, branded for sponsorship purposes as Inside the NBA presented by Kia, is the halftime and postgame studio show for NBA on TNT broadcasts. The show is currently hosted by Ernie Johnson, joined on set by three analysts: Kenny "The Jet" Smith, Charles Barkley, and Shaquille O'Neal. Notable former analysts have included Magic Johnson (2003–2007), Reggie Miller (2008–2011), and Chris Webber (2008–2011). Since the early 2000s, the show has consistently been rated as among the best sports analysis shows on American television, and over its history has won nineteen Sports Emmy Awards.
The National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) is the labor union that represents National Basketball Association (NBA) players. It was founded in 1954, making it the oldest trade union of the four major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. However, the NBPA did not get recognition by NBA team owners until ten years later. Its offices are located in the historic Park and Tilford Building in New York City. It was briefly a trade association after dissolving as a union during the 2011 NBA lockout.
Jackie Robinson Day is a traditional event which occurs annually on April 15 in Major League Baseball (MLB), commemorating and honoring the day Jackie Robinson made his major league debut. Celebrated at MLB ballparks, on that one day, all players, coaches, and managers on both teams, and the umpires, wear Robinson's uniform number, 42. April 15 was Opening Day in 1947, Robinson's first season in the major leagues.
The 2019–20 NBA season was the 74th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The regular season began on October 22, 2019, and originally was supposed to end on April 15, 2020. The 2020 NBA All-Star Game was played on February 16, at the United Center in Chicago, and was won by Team LeBron, 157–155. The playoffs were originally scheduled to begin on April 18, and end with the NBA Finals in June.
The 2020 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2019–20 season. The playoffs were originally scheduled to begin on April 18. However, the league suspended the season on March 11, 2020, hours after the COVID-19 outbreak was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization and after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the virus.
The 2019–20 Orlando Magic season was the 31st season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). On March 11, 2020, the NBA suspended play of the entire league indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On June 4, 2020, the NBA Board of Governors approved a restart plan to resume the season on July 30, with approval from the National Basketball Players Association the next day. As a result, the Magic were one of 22 teams that were invited to play eight games each in the NBA Bubble at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. The games, which were closed to the public, counted towards the regular season to determine the seeding for the 2020 NBA playoffs.
The 2019–20 Milwaukee Bucks season was the 52nd season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Bucks entered the season following a playoff defeat in six games from the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference finals. The Bucks had the best team defensive rating in the NBA.
The 2019–20 Los Angeles Lakers season was the franchise's 72nd season, its 71st season in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and its 60th in Los Angeles. The Lakers were coached by Frank Vogel in his first year as team head coach. The team played its home games at Staples Center as members of the Western Conference's Pacific Division.
The 2020–21 NBA season was the 75th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA), though the 75th anniversary was not celebrated until the following season. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the regular season was reduced to 72 games for each team, and began on December 22, 2020. The season started just 72 days after the completion of the 2020 NBA Finals, the shortest off-season in league history. The 2021 NBA All-Star Game was played on March 7, at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, and was won by Team LeBron, 170–150. For the first time, the NBA staged a play-in tournament for teams ranked 7th through 10th in each conference from May 18 to 21. The playoffs then ran under the standard 16-team playoff format from May 22 to July 20, 2021. Due to COVID-19 cross-border restrictions imposed by the Canadian government, the Toronto Raptors played their 2020–21 home games at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
The 2020 Major League Baseball season began on July 23 and ended on September 27 with only 60 games amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The full 162-game regular season was planned to begin on March 26, but the pandemic caused Major League Baseball (MLB) to announce on March 12 that the remainder of spring training was canceled and that the start of the regular season would be delayed by at least two weeks. On March 16, MLB announced that the season would be postponed indefinitely, following recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to restrict events of more than 50 people. This was the first time that MLB games had been put on hold since the 2001 season, when the season was paused for over a week after the September 11 attacks.
The 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the 151st season of college football games in the United States. Organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at its highest level of competition, the Football Bowl Subdivision, it began on September 3, 2020.
The 2020 Real Salt Lake season was the team's 16th year of existence, and their 16th consecutive season in Major League Soccer, the top division of the American soccer pyramid.
The 2020 WNBA season was the 24th season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Washington Mystics were the defending champions. Planned changes to the league's schedule included an increase from 34 to 36 regular season games for each team, the introduction of a mid-season Commissioner's Cup tournament, and more games broadcast on ESPN and ABC. This was the first season under a new Collective Bargaining Agreement between the league and the WNBA Players Association. However, on April 3, the season was indefinitely postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under a plan approved on June 15, the league began a shortened 22-game regular season at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, without fans present on July 25. A'ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces was named the league MVP. The Seattle Storm won the 2020 WNBA Finals over the Aces, and Breanna Stewart was named the Finals MVP.
The 2020 Utah State Aggies football team represented Utah State University in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Aggies played their home games at Maverik Stadium in Logan, Utah as members of the Mountain West Conference. Head coach Gary Andersen, who was in his second year back at Utah State, coached the first three games before he was fired after going 0–3. Co-defensive coordinator Frank Maile was named interim head coach. In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Aggies finished the conference-only season 1–5 to finish in 11th place in Mountain West play.
On March 11, 2020, the National Basketball Association (NBA) announced the suspension of the 2019–20 season following Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert testing positive for COVID-19, which occurred around the same time as COVID-19 lockdowns began in both the United States and Canada.
The 2020 NBA Bubble was the bio-secure bubble at Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando, that was created by the National Basketball Association (NBA) to protect its players from the COVID-19 pandemic during the final eight games of the 2019–20 regular season and throughout the 2020 NBA playoffs. Twenty-two out of the 30 NBA teams were invited to participate with games being held behind closed doors at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex and the teams staying at Disney World hotels.
On August 23, 2020, Jacob S. Blake, a 29-year-old black man, was shot and seriously injured by police officer Rusten Sheskey in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Sheskey shot Blake in the back four times and the side three times after Blake opened the driver's door of an SUV belonging to the mother of his children, and attempted to reach inside. Sheskey said that he believed he was about to be stabbed, since Blake was holding a knife. Earlier during the encounter, Blake had been tasered by two officers, but the tasers failed to disable him and he continued toward the vehicle.
In the aftermath of the August 2020 police shooting of Jacob Blake, protests, riots, and civil unrest occurred in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and around the United States as part of the larger United States racial unrest and Black Lives Matter movements. In addition to street protests, marches, and demonstrations, the shooting also led to the 2020 American athlete boycotts.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruption to basketball around the world, mirroring its impact across all sports. Around the world and to varying degrees, events and competitions have been cancelled or postponed with limited or no spectators, and other restrictions in 2020 and 2021. The National Basketball Association (NBA) suspended its 2019–20 season due to one player testing positive from COVID-19, and began to resume the season later in 2020.