Whether we call it a ‘boycott,’ ‘strike’ or ‘protest,’ the work stoppage that gripped the NBA on Wednesday after the Milwaukee Bucks refused to play after the Sunday shooting of Jacob Blake appears to be officially resolved according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
What began as an unplanned response to the police shooting of Blake, a resident of Kenosha, Wisconsin — just 45 minutes from Milwaukee — quickly ballooned into a multi-sport protest.
NBA teams scheduled to play that day and teams in the WNBA, MLB, MLS and even pro tennis had games or matches were also canceled or rescheduled.
Full release from the NBA and NBPA: Social justice coalition being formed; team governors working to convert all arenas into location for 2020 general election; advertisement spots to promote civic engagement and awareness. pic.twitter.com/piU3gmOxgh
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 28, 2020
For their part, the Bucks did not intend to spark such a movement according to Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes.
But, the games would end up going unplayed just the same, with the NBA deciding to postpone them officially until a course of action acceptable for players, teams and the league was reached.
And today, that agreement was hammered out.
The NBA and National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) released a statement on the matter, which began:
“We had a candid, impassioned and productive conversation yesterday between NBA players, coaches and team governors regarding next steps to further our collective efforts and actions in support of social justice and racial equality. Among others, the attendees included player and team representatives of all 13 teams in Orlando.”
The statement continued by noting the playoffs would resume on saturday, August 29th with the NBA agreeing to three basic principles to move forward.
CLAB 14: Taking stock of the NBA restart post-strike with N. Jeremi Duru https://t.co/WWUXL427st
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) August 28, 2020
The first was a commitment to start a social justice coalition “with representatives from players, coaches and governors” that will be focused on a broad range of issues” that include voting access, civic engagement, and supporting police and criminal justice reform.
It is followed with a plan to have team Governors convert arenas owned by teams into safe locations for voting in the midst of a pandemic.
The NBA has announced its schedule for this weekend. Bucks-Magic will be the first game played at 3:30pm Saturday, followed by Thunder-Rockets and Lakers-Blazers. Sunday: Celtics-Raptors at 1pm, followed by Clippers-Mavericks and Jazz-Nuggets at 8:30pm.
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) August 28, 2020
It concludes with an agreement to place more advertising “dedicated to promoting greater civic engagement in national and local elections and raising awareness around voter access and opportunity.”
“These commitments follow months of close collaboration around designing a safe and healthy environment to restart the NBA season,” continued the statement, “providing a platform to promote social justice, as well as creating an NBA Foundation focused on economic empowerment in the Black community.”
The Celtics are slated to resume Game 1 of their series with the Raptors on Sunday at 1pm Eastern Time, according to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps.
A timetable for the rest of the series remains to be established, but will likely be released later today or tomorrow.
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