NBA Hoosiers (Aug. 26): League Pauses Games After Latest Police Shooting, Balance of Season in Jeopardy

During the restart of the NBA season, players, coaches and teams have been at the forefront of demanding change in police brutality cases against minorities. The protests escalated after the George Floyd murder in May, and came to a head again on Wednesday after the Jacob Blake shooting in Kenosha, Wis.

It started during the afternoon, just prior to tipoff of a game between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Orlando Magic. The Bucks, who play just 40 miles from Kenosha, didn't come out on the floor for warmups, and decided they weren't going to play as a form of protest.

After conversations between the players and the league, the game was postponed. The two other games scheduled for Wednesday also were postponed.

It set off a firestorm of comments and actions around the league, from everyone involved.

"It's unfortunate. I'm just going to continue to keep doing what I can to stress that this isn't over,'' Pacers guard Victor Oladipo said. "What we're fighting for, what we're preaching, what we're trying to change, it has not been changed. Wins and losses are tough, getting swept is tough, but at the end of the day, nobody is dead. People are dying. This is not OK. We have to do our part to really change.''

The Bucks were in an awkward situation because they are the local team so near to Kenosha, but the rest of the league jumped right in with them as a show of unity. It's been that way all summer, with the league promoting messages for change, and playing every game with the "Black Lives Matter' message on the court.

Even Wisconsin politicians weighed in on the Bucks' role after players had several conversations with state leaders during the afternoon, at a time when they would have been playing Game 5 in their first-round series

Here's Attorney General Josh Kaul (@WisDOJ) on his phone call with the @Bucks. Kaul adds: "The Bucks have, frankly, done more to address these issues than @SpeakerVos or @SenFitzgerald have done. So I applaud them for stepping up and playing a leadership role in the debate." pic.twitter.com/tobXeFisHW
— Victor Jacobo (@victorjacobo_) August 27, 2020

' Wisconsin attorney general Josh Kaul talked to the media after having conversations with several Bucks players.

"I had a conversation with them briefly about how Wisconsin's process works. I commend the Bucks and now all NBA teams that suspended their games today for stepping up and participating in the dialogue about these issues and making their voices known.

"The Bucks have frankly done more to address these issues than Robin Vos (speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly) and Scott Fitzgerald (Wisconsin state Majority Senate leader) have done, so I applaud them for stepping up and playing a leadership role in the debate.

On Wednesday, those issues reached a boiling point, according to Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix. At 8 p.m., hundreds of players and coaches settled into folding chairs inside a ballroom in the Coronado Springs hotel. Everywhere, faces looked emotionally drained. The bubble has taken a toll, made a bad situation exponentially worse. George went public with his struggles this week, revealing bouts with anxiety and depression. And he is far from alone. As the weeks have gone by, many have retreated into isolation. The introduction of new people into the bubble has become something to dread.

The meeting was led by Chris Paul and Andre Iguodala; for more than an hour, many spoke. Doc Rivers, Armond Hill, John Lucas. Damian Lillard, Carmelo Anthony and Kyle Korver. They talked about the need to do more for voting rights. They pushed for more active measures to pressure police reform.

Players demanded an action plan from ownership, sources told Sports Illustrated. Though to several in the room it was unclear exactly what action they wanted. Team owners have been supportive of players during this restart. They have allowed social justice messages on jerseys. They have supported kneeling during the national anthem. Earlier this month, the NBA announced it was committing $300 million to create economic empowerment in the black community. When the Bucks elected not to play, Milwaukee’s owners were the first to issue a strong statement of support.

There are nine former Indiana basketball players in the NBA right now. Five are still in the Orlando bubble, Houston's Eric Gordon, Utah's Juwan Morgan, Denver's Noah Vonleh, Boston's Romeo Langford and Toronto's OG Anunoby.

Indiana's Victor Oladipo left the bubble Tuesday after the Pacers were eliminated by the Miami Heat. Washington's Thomas Bryant and Sacramento's Yogi Ferrell were in Orlando for the eight final regular-season games. Charlotte's Cody Zeller missed the final part of the season as one of eight team that couldn't have qualified for the playoffs in that eight-game window.

Former players in the media also stepped up. TNT's Kenny Smith actually walked off their set as a sign of support.

Kenny Smith, Inside the NBA host, just walked off the set: “As a black man, as a former player, I think it's best for me to support the players and just not be here tonight."https://t.co/3561mMA1Vi
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) August 26, 2020

Meetings on Thursday morning between the players and league will be used to set a course going forward. There is a very real possibility that teams could walk away completely. There was some talk late Wednesday night that the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers, two of the league's high-powered franchises, were ready to walk away from the season.

Bucks fans, who have been waiting for an NBA championship since 1971, are disappointed with the postponements, but they also certainly understand and many were proud of the Bucks' players for speaking out.