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WNBA Postpones Thursday's Games to Protest Police Shooting of Jacob Blake
August 27, 2020
For the second day in a row, the WNBA postponed its scheduled regular-season games as athletes weigh more drastic forms of activism following the shooting of Jacob Blake.
Los Angeles Sparks star Nneka Ogwumike, who's also the president of the Women's National Basketball Players Association, explained the move to ESPN's Holly Rowe.
"The players of the WNBA used today to reflect," Ogwumike said. "This is not a strike. This is not a boycott. This is a day of action."
The Milwaukee Bucks declined to take the court for their NBA playoff game against the Orlando Magic.
With more protests looming, the NBA postponed all of its games for Wednesday.
WNBA players followed the Bucks' lead as well. Members of the Washington Mystics wore shirts with seven markings on the back to reference the shooting of Blake.
Atlanta Dream star Elizabeth Williams, the WNBPA's secretary, read a statement on behalf of her colleagues:
In laying out its plan for the 2020 season, the WNBA said it would focus on social justice and encourage players to be vocal in pushing for change. The back of every player's jersey bears the name of Breonna Taylor, who was shot and killed in her apartment by Louisville, Kentucky, police in March.
The killings of Taylor and George Floyd sparked nationwide protests, and the shooting of Blake has deepened. the pain Black people are experiencing.
A video showed two officers from Kenosha, Wisconsin, following Blake with their guns drawn as he approached the driver's side door of a gray SUV. Upon Blake opening the door, one officer grabbed the bottom of his tank top, and police opened fire from close range.
The bullets severed Blake's spinal cord, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.