The Milwaukee Bucks’ decision not to take the court on Wednesday in protest of the shooting of Jacob Blake sent shockwaves throughout the league.
The Milwaukee Bucks started both a league- and sports-wide movement on Thursday afternoon by not taking the court for their scheduled Game 5 contest against the Orlando Magic. The decision came without warning, eventually leading to players for all three playoff games slated for Thursday to strike.
It was also a decision that kickstarted similar strikes across multiple leagues. The Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds did not play their regular season game on Thursday, one of a handful of MLB games that did not take place. The WNBA and MLS saw it’s players take a stand and refuse to play as well.
Though the New Orleans Pelicans were not directly included in the players’ decision to strike, they supported their fellow players from afar on social media.
Josh Hart tweeted out a phrase that many NBA players shared as the Bucks’ decision to not take the court was first taking place.
JJ Redick, who is apart of the Social Justice Leadership Coalition with teammate Lonzo Ball and Saints linebacker Demario Davis, did not directly share his thoughts on social media. However, he did retweet tweets from Jamal Murray of the Nuggets and Donovan Mitchell of the Jazz as well as Davis.
Jrue Holiday did not take to Twitter but instead shared his thoughts through Instagram, Holiday shared a tweet from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski while saying “This is bigger than sports” and also sharing a video of the Milwaukee Bucks’ statement saying “Proud of my brothers”.
Sindarius Thornwell, the newest Pelican who was signed prior to heading into the bubble, retweeted a tweet from Jerian Grant that also called this movement bigger than basketball.
As it stands on Wednesday night, the future of the playoffs seems in serious doubt. On Wednesday evening, the players inside the bubble held a meeting with coaches to discuss their plans moving forward. Various reports differ on the specifics, but what is known is that both the Lakers and Clippers voted to boycott the rest of the season before walking out while the Bucks and Raptors were called two of the strongest voices in the room.
A Board of Governor’s meeting is slated for 11 a.m. Eastern on Thursday while the players will hold a second joint meeting at the same time with the season’s future in the balance.
