Milwaukee Bucks Playoff Boycott Sends Powerful Message
The Milwaukee Bucks had enough. After two nights of protesting following the shooting of Jacob Blake by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin (which left two people dead and one injured last night), the NBA team decided to take a stand. They chose to boycott Game 5 of their playoff series against the Orlando Magic.
Once the Magic found out about the Bucks' boycott, they left the court with 3:56 before tipoff and went back to the locker room. The referees soon followed. The dominoes did not stop there.
Since the tragic shooting death of George Floyd, the NBA has been front and center with Black Lives Matter. The #BLM message is on every court inside the bubble at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex where all NBA games have been played since they returned to action. Last night after the Clippers blowout win over the Mavericks, Doc Rivers was candid about his frustrations with society.
Interestingly enough, the Bucks boycott comes on the four year anniversary to the day of Colin Kaepernick's decision to first take a knee. On October 16th 1968, Tommie Smith and John Carlos each raised black gloved fists during the medal ceremony at the Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City. Smith and Carlos carefully planned their protests in support of the Black Power movement and it is considered one of the most influential moments in the history of sports. Actions are stronger than words and the Milwaukee Bucks decision to boycott an NBA Playoff game sends a message so powerful, it will have huge ripple effects across not just the American sports landscape but society as well.