NBA players didn’t come to Disney solely for a restart. They also wanted social reform. The Milwaukee Bucks showed how far they’re willing to go to get it by opting not to play in their playoff game Wednesday. Two more games were postponed later in the day, the second time this season NBA basketball came to an immediate halt. Other sports followed, just as they did in March when the season was suspended four months because of the coronavirus pandemic. Later Thursday, the NBA’s board of governors will meet and likely address whether the playoff games scheduled for the night will be played. The players also will meet separately to decide how long the stoppage lasts, though some like ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski are reporting that players have decided to continue the playoffs.
The Bucks changed the narrative across the entire sports landscape, putting the focus squarely on social justice reform in protest of the shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, while three of his children in his car looked on. While players and teams from baseball, the WNBA, MLS and tennis sat out their competitions Wednesday night, NBA players and coaches met for nearly three hours in a Disney hotel to determine next steps, including whether the season should continue. They did not come to a consensus, a person with knowledge of the meeting told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because details weren’t revealed publicly. Two NFL teams, the Jets and Colts, cancelled practice on Wednesday, and they and several other teams are following suit on Thursday.
Today on AirTalk, we get the latest on the teams’ and players’ responses, including CA teams, and what it means moving forward in the major league seasons.
With files from the Associated Press
Guest:
Tania Ganguli, reporter covering the Lakers for the Los Angeles Times; she tweets
Dylan Hernández, sports columnist for the Los Angeles Times; he tweets
Kavitha A. Davidson, host of “The Lead” podcast from The Athletic and Wondery Media; she tweets