Professional athletes are taking a stand after yet another unjust shooting of yet another unarmed Black man. Jacob Blake Jr. was shot seven times in the back as he opened the door to his minivan, where his three sons were waiting for their dad. It was his youngest son’s birthday.
While Blake is fighting for his life and his family reports he is paralyzed from the waist down, images from protests in Wisconsin were going viral after 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse was recorded by multiple witnesses shooting three protesters with an AR-15 rifle. Two of those victims died. One of the victims, Anthony Huber, was seen using his skateboard to try to stop Rittenhouse. He was shot at point-blank range by Rittenhouse.
NBA players, who have held focus on racial justice for this entire shortened NBA season by wearing Black Lives Matter on their jerseys, having Black Lives Matter messaging on the court, and calling attention to injustice in post-game interviews instead of talking about the game-winning shot, coalesced around each other and decided this is no time for sports.
The Milwaukee Bucks decided to sit out their game on Wednesday. Other teams swiftly followed until all the NBA games, WNBA games, a Major League Baseball game, and the majority Major League Soccer games were postponed in a show of unity.
The Milwaukee Bucks players stood united during a statement in which they called for accountability for the officers who shot Blake, and for the Wisconsin state legislature to immediately reconvene to hold a special session on “police accountability, brutality and criminal justice reforms.”
Five-time NBA All Star Chris Weber also delivered a truly must-watch, gut-wrenching commentary on the damage marginalized communities face day in and day out, asking, “if not now, when?”
Soon the WNBA joined their male colleagues and issued a statement that they stood united in joining the player strike. They chose to kneel together, arms locked. They encouraged fans “not to wait”—change needs to happen now.
LeBron James joined up with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund to launch More Than A Vote, an organization aimed at recruiting Black poll workers. Tennis superstar Naomi Osaka soon followed suit, withdrawing from the Western & Southern Open semi-finals. In a statement, Osaka said:
“Hello, as many of you are aware, I was scheduled to play my semifinals match tomorrow. However, before I am an athlete, I am a Black woman. And as a Black woman, I feel as though there are much more important matters at hand that need immediate attention, rather than watching me play tennis. I don’t expect anything drastic to happen with me not playing, but if I can get a conversation started in a majority white sport I consider a step in the right direction. Watching the continued genocide of Black people at the hand of police is honestly making me sick to my stomach. I’m exhausted of having a new hashtag pop-up every few days and I’m extremely tired of having this conversation over and over again. When will it ever be enough? #JacobBlake #BreonnaTaylor #ElijahMcClain #George Floyd”
Over in the NFL, players are gearing up for their season, which may or may not get played in full because of COVID-19. Regardless of the unknown of that season, they are tackling what is known—that Election Day is just around the corner. Players like Kansas City’s Super Bowl champions Patrick Mahomes and Tyrann Mathieu have pledged to be active in voter registration drives and the team is trying to make Arrowhead Stadium a polling location this November.
The Detroit Lions cancelled their practice on Wednesday.
The Indianapolis Colts followed suit, canceling their Thursday practice and saying the team needed to “discuss and work toward making a lasting social impact and inspiring change in our communities.”
Individually and collectively, these professional and collegiate athletes have tremendous power. They are using that power to promote change, but it is on us, the fans, to make things happen. Call your elected representatives, your police department, and your mayor to demand police accountability and criminal justice reform.
We need to turn out Democratic voters to defeat Trump in November, even during a pandemic. You can help out from home, no matter where you live, by writing personalized letters to infrequent, but Democratic-leaning, voters in swing states. Click here to set up an account with Vote Forward, the most popular get-out-the-vote activity among Daily Kos activists.
We are also asking you to support numerous organizations that are working on the front lines fighting for racial justice reform. Each of these organizations is working to change policies governing police, provide assistance to those facing a biased and unjust legal system, and organize a collective voice for change. Please consider giving $1 to these each of these organizations.
