After a day of boycotted games, and trickle down reporting of player meetings and decisions regarding the continuation of the 2020 NBA Playoffs, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski has reported that the NBA’s players have decided in favour of resuming the playoffs.
Games are expected to resume on Saturday.
The situation began when the Milwaukee Bucks decided not to play their fixture with the Orlando Magic on Wednesday, and that led to the postponing of the remaining two games also slated to be played that day.
Players met with league officials, NBA representatives, and coaching staff in the bubble to discuss the next steps moving forward, before ultimately deciding this morning that they would push ahead with the playoffs as planned.
Milwaukee chose not to take the court as a protest against Sunday’s shooting of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man who was shot seven times by police in Wisconsin (just south of Milwaukee).
Thursday afternoon’s meeting should provide more clarity around the coming days, and the updated game schedules.Milwaukee Bucks guard George Hill was frustrated when questioned about what his team could do to assist from inside the confines of the Orlando bubble.”We can’t do anything,” Hill said.
“We shouldn’t have even came to this damn place, to be honest. I think coming just here took all the focal points off what the issues are. But we’re here, so it is what it is. We can’t do anything from right here, but I think definitely, when it’s all settled, some things have to be done.”
“I think this world has to change. I think our police department has to change. Us as society has to change. And, right now we’re not seeing any of that. Lives are being taken, as we speak, day in and day out, and there’s no consequence or accountability for it, and that’s what has to change.”
These developments are the latest in a series of activism measures being carried out by the NBA and its players in the bubble, with “Black Lives Matter” being painted on the arena courts, players wearing jerseys with social justice messages, and teams kneeling during the anthem to express solidarity.