Milwaukee Bucks boycott Game 5 in protest of Jacob Blake’s shooting

The Milwaukee Bucks refused to take the court for Game 5 on Wednesday night, boycotting the game in protest of Jacob Blake’s shooting in Kenosha.

The Milwaukee Bucks have set the standard in the NBA throughout the season with their play on the court, but on Wednesday, August 26, that same group of players set standards far beyond basketball by refusing to take to the court for their scheduled Game 5 against the Orlando Magic.

Milwaukee’s players took that stand as they protested the recent shooting of Jacob Blake at the hands of police officers in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

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With the ongoing fight for social justice and racial equality representing key issues before teams even agreed to make the trip to Walt Disney World, there was a clear sense of dismay being reported among players across the league over the past 48 hours, including the Bucks’ George Hill and Khris Middleton.

That’s not to suggest that any player was naive enough to think that changing names on jerseys or emblazoning the court with Black Lives Matter would achieve the kind of change that so many have fought so hard and so long in pursuit of, but Wednesday’s events suggest that the players at least realized that if they were going to protest, it was essential to find a new, more impactful way to communicate their message.

With just minutes remaining before the game was scheduled to tip-off, only the Orlando Magic were to be found warming up on the floor. Eventually, they left too and refused to accept a forfeit from their opponent. As a result, Game 5 of Bucks-Magic was postponed, with the rest of Wednesday’s slate then following.

It remains to be seen what the next steps are for the Bucks and the NBA, with a meeting set to take place among players later on Wednesday night.

Bucks general manager Jon Horst explained that Milwaukee’s players would not be speaking to the media today, although a team statement would be released in due course.

Bucks senior vice president Alex Lasry did share his reaction on Twitter, offering his support and a desire to bring about real change.

That latter sentiment has been a common refrain from the Bucks, through events such as Sterling Brown’s wrongful arrest, the shared social justice initiatives hosted alongside the Sacramento Kings, the team’s visit to Racine Correctional Institute, the statements and team-led protest that followed George Floyd’s killing, and the statement that followed Jacob Blake’s shooting just a matter of days ago.

Taking matters into their own hands, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reports that the Bucks were even trying to reach Wisconsin attorney general Josh Kaul from their locker room.

The Bucks may yet also spark a greater spate of protests and boycotts throughout the world of sports, with the Milwaukee Brewers players reportedly considering similar action.

Four years to the day that Colin Kaepernick took a knee, the Bucks left their own mark on the history of American sport. That’s a history that has long been dotted with brilliant leaders and outspoken activists who complemented their gifts in their respective field with an insatiable desire to bring about change and to make the world a better place.

As Jim Paschke outlined on a truly phenomenal Fox Sports Wisconsin broadcast, in which Marques Johnson and Zora Stephenson offered thoughtful and thought provoking context for the action unfolding, this was a decision taken by 16 Milwaukee Bucks players, with the support of their head coach and the wider staff behind them.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Eric Bledsoe, Sterling Brown, Pat Connaughton, Donte DiVincenzo, George Hill, Ersan Ilyasova, Kyle Korver, Brook Lopez, Robin Lopez, Frank Mason III, Wesley Matthews, Khris Middleton, Marvin Williams, and D.J. Wilson all made history today.

Your Milwaukee Bucks.

The Bucks have treated NBA fans to two seasons of frequent brilliance on the court, but they’ve never done anything as momentous, far-reaching or important as this before. They almost certainly never will again.

Will boycotting a game solve the problem? Would boycotting the season?

The sad reality is that we all know the answer to both of those questions is no. But that is not the job of NBA players. And yet, more than countless elected officials, more than the officers who failed in their duty to protect and serve in Kenosha in recent days, those players are making a real push to use the platforms afforded to them, to use the power that comes with their job, for positive change.

They can’t directly sign off on policy or budgets, but they can use their influence to draw attention to the matter at hand, ensure that those topics remain at the forefront of media conversation and public discourse, and encourage their considerable followings to lobby their elected officials to take action.

Anyone tuning in to Wednesday’s Game 5 to escape from the flaming hellscape that is society in 2020 was not allowed to do so. There was no game for distraction, but the issues of real life staring viewers right in the face.

Plenty will still refuse to accept and acknowledge the scale of the problem, and the horrific injustices that are making life so difficult for so many American people. There’s no doubt that others will be quick to mock or disparage the Bucks’ actions.

But on Wednesday, the Milwaukee Bucks’ players took control of their own narrative and did what they felt was right. They took a stand to protest not just what’s happening throughout their country, but in the Bucks’ home state of Wisconsin too.

The Bucks have spent the season leading the NBA, and they’ve now done it once again when it matters most of all.

Editor’s note: This post has been updated to correct an earlier error.