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A New Strike for Racial Justice Among Athletes Starts With the Milwaukee Bucks’ Historic Move
The NBA, WNBA, MLB, and the U.S. Tennis Association are lockstep in protest
Black athletes have had enough.
The Milwaukee Bucks chose not to play in last night’s scheduled playoff game against the Orlando Magic in response to the police shooting of Jacob Blake, an unarmed Black man shot seven times in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The decision caused a domino effect across leagues: the WNBA and MLB followed suit by postponing games.
Two-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka announced on Twitter that she would skip her semifinals match at the Western and Southern Open. In her note, she said: “Before I am an athlete, I am a black woman.”
WNBA athletes, a longtime supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement, and Colin Kaepernick’s peaceful protest of the national anthem did not play last night but left a powerful image on the court.
