Milwaukee Bucks Sit Out Game 5 vs. Orlando Magic to Protest Shooting of Jacob Blake
The NBA's Milwaukee Bucks have boycotted Game 5 of their 7-game playoff series against the Orlando Magic to protest the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The Bucks game was scheduled to tipoff at 4:10 p.m. inside the "NBA Bubble". The Orlando Magic came out of the locker room for warmups, but Milwaukee never came on to the floor.
"We're tired of the killings and the injustice," Bucks guard George Hill told The Undefeated's Marc J. Spears.
Meanwhile, Ohio State basketball's Seth Towns, the team's most vocal advocate for social justice, said on Twitter how proud he is of the NBA for taking their stance.
LeBron James also weighed in on Twitter, and he was a bit more straightforward.
ESPN is reporting that the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets are leaving the court and won't play tonight's game either. The Lakers and Trail Blazers game was postponed shortly thereafter.
Ohio State posted this tweet, apparently in support with the Black Lives Matter movement. The picture is from a BLM demonstration on campus earlier this summer.
Perhaps the bigger question is when will we see the NBA again the rest of the season? The league was blindsided by the way this afternoon unfolded (according to Woj) and they'll have to develop a plan moving forward.
Several NFL stars reacted to the news on social media.
The protest comes after the police shooting of Jacob Blake in the Bucks' home state of Wisconsin. Blake was shot seven times by police on Sunday in Kenosha, Wisconsin.