On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American man, was murdered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, by a white police officer who was arresting Floyd for allegedly using a counterfeit bill.[11] Floyd's murder sparked national and international protests against police brutality, lack of police accountability, and racism.[12] As a result of Floyd's murder, NBA players began wearing T-shirts with the words I Can't Breathe while warming up before their NBA games.[13]
The precedent for the NBA allowing the players to protest wearing the I Can't Breathe T-shirt was set in 2014 after the police killing of Eric Garner.[14]
Professional athletic strikes
In response to the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, professional athletes in the United States walked out of and refused to play in their scheduled sporting events.[1]
The broader protests were organized under the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, which advocates non-violent civil disobedience to protest against police brutality and racially motivated violence against black people.[15][16][17] The Black Lives Matter logo was displayed on the National Basketball Association (NBA) courts during the 2020 playoffs.[18] When the NBA restarted the 2019–20 season in July 2020, NBA players knelt during the national anthem, with each player wearing a "Black Lives Matter" shirt.[19]
National Basketball Association
During the 2020 NBA playoffs, players on the Milwaukee Bucks walked out of their August 26 first-round playoff game against the Orlando Magic in protest of the shooting of Jacob Blake. The team decided not to come out of their locker room for the game.
It was initially reported the Bucks would forfeit the contest; however, the Magic did not accept the Bucks' forfeiture.[6] The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association announced that in light of the Bucks' decision to refuse to play, all NBA games for the day were postponed.[20] The Toronto Raptors had also discussed a walkout of their second-round playoff series with the Boston Celtics in frustration with a lack of social or legislative change after the murder of George Floyd and as a result of Blake's shooting.[21] In a meeting involving the players that took place later that night, the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers voted to cancel the rest of the tournament in an informal vote. The other NBA teams voted to continue playing.[22][23]
The NBA also postponed their scheduled playoff games for August 28.[27] The playoffs resumed on August 29.[28]
National Football League
In response to the shooting of Jacob Blake, the Detroit Lions canceled their scheduled practice on August 25.[29] On August 27, nine NFL teams canceled their scheduled practices.[9] Nineteen other NFL teams did continue their scheduled practices. Several teams that did not cancel practice issued statements about unity. The Jacksonville Jaguars decided to cancel their scheduled afternoon activities.[30]
On August 27, seven MLB games were postponed as a result of player strikes. At the New York Mets' Citi Field, a Black Lives Matter shirt was placed on home plate.[34][35]
The National Hockey League (NHL) players postponed their scheduled games for August 27 and 28. These games were part of the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs.[8]
Major League Soccer
On August 26, Major League Soccer players staged a walkout of several games to highlight racial injustice.[38] In all, the league canceled five of the six scheduled games for August 26.[39]
All six games scheduled for August 26 and 27 were postponed.[45][46]
Women's Tennis Association
On August 26, Naomi Osaka of the Women's Tennis Association announced she would not play in the Cincinnati Open semifinals as part of the protest following the shooting of Jacob Blake.[47] The Western & Southern Open organizers decided to reschedule matches scheduled for August 27 to the following day.[7] In response, Osaka agreed to play her semifinal match, which she won 6–0, 7–6 (5).[48]
In an August 27 interview with CNN, Marc Short, Chief of Staff to Vice President Mike Pence, said, "If they want to protest, I don't think we care" when commenting on the NBA walkout in support of social justice reforms after the police shooting of Jacob Blake.[50]
On August 27, retired Chicago Bears linebacker and Hall of FamerBrian Urlacher made a post to Instagram criticizing NBA players for staging walkouts of playoff games over the police shooting of Jacob Blake and stating "Patriot Lives Matter", attracting significant criticism.[51][52] In response to Urlacher's post, the Chicago Bears stated, "the social media posts in no way reflect the values or opinions of the Chicago Bears organization."[53]
Real Salt Lake and Utah Royals owner Dell Loy Hansen criticized players taking part in the strike and stated that "the disrespect is profound to me personally". He also threatened to pull investment from the club.[54] Hansen announced he would sell the club after further allegations of racist comments and behavior were revealed.[55]
^Banks, Chloe (November 2, 2018). "Disciplining Black activism: post-racial rhetoric, public memory and decorum in news media framing of the Black Lives Matter movement". Continuum. 32 (6): 709–720. doi:10.1080/10304312.2018.1525920. ISSN1030-4312. S2CID150199510.
