Why the Milwaukee Bucks' decision not to play an NBA playoff game will alter the course of history

USA Today

"There are moments that transcend sports, actions that get seared into the public consciousness and alter the course of history," says Nancy Armour. "The Milwaukee Bucks’ refusal to take the court for their playoff game Wednesday afternoon is now one of them. By deciding not to play, and bringing a good portion of the sports world to a halt, the Bucks held a mirror up to America, demanding it confronts what too many have ignored, excused away or, worst of all, accepted. Systemic racism, the poisonous attitudes and mindset that allow a police officer to treat a Black person as if they have no worth, no humanity, is woven tight into the fabric of this country. The very foundations of American society – education, housing, banking, policing, our criminal justice system, you name it – are rooted in racism. And unlike when Colin Kaepernick first took a knee to protest police brutality, four years ago to the day Wednesday, there will be no distorting this message. Within an hour, the NBA was forced to postpone the day’s remaining games. Not long after that, the Milwaukee Brewers announced that they would not play, either, and at least two other Major League Baseball games were called off. The WNBA, long a leader in social justice issues, stood in solidarity with the NBA and also refused to play...Anyone who thinks this quiet rage will blow over, or won’t have a lasting impact, doesn’t recognize how significantly the world just shifted. For 400 years now, in word and deed, this country has told Black Americans that they have no power or sway. That they must 'shut up and dribble,' as Black athletes are so often instructed. By refusing to play, the Bucks said they are no longer willing to be America’s escape, celebrated when they’re entertaining us but treated like trash when they take off their uniforms. They will not be put off by the hollow promises of change each time another Black man or woman is killed or abused by police, and you can bet their courage will embolden others."

ALSO:

• NBC Sports' Mike Tirico calls Wednesday "probably the largest, most widespread day of sports activism that our country has ever seen": "And those of us who sports know, we kind of live over in the corner there," Tirico said on Joy Reid's MSNBC show The ReidOut. "It is not really essential at the end of the day to your life. So what’s going on in Louisiana, Covid-19, the Republican convention, all those things have far more significance than the results of a sporting event. However, sports tends to cut across demographics: male, female, black, white, old, young, religious persuasion. Sports seems to get all of these under the same umbrella. So this statement, however powerful it is we don’t know the full impact of it, is as significant as we’ve ever seen in sports domestically. There are parallels of course. Big sports protest, 1968, John Carlos and Tommie Smith at the Mexico City Olympics, raising their fists on the stand after winning medals. But something this widespread we have not seen the likes of American sports before.”
• ESPN will expand SportsCenter to three hours if there are no NBA playoff games on Thursday: "There will be other changes accordingly," reports The Athletic's Richard Deitsch. "ESPN executives will hold meetings early in the morning to set an overall approach for the day and evening." ESPN senior vice president of production Dave Roberts tells him: “Both Get Up and First Take will focus on the history-making events and our new morning radio show will feature guests including former NBA player Quentin Richardson and NFL Executive VP Troy Vincent discussing how this movement may affect the NFL. We’ll have a dozen different, diverse voices on Get Up highlighting the impact across the entire sports landscape. Dr. Harry Edwards will be among the guests on First Take.”
• Major League Soccer says it made the decision to postpone Wednesday's games, though players say they made the decision
• NBA playoff games are likely to be canceled on Thursday
• Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll says he wouldn't be surprised if an NFL team forfeited a game in protest this season
• 2020 Western & Southern Open tennis tournament pauses after Naomi Osaka says she won't play because of Jacob Blake
• Watch Michael Wilbon delivered an emotional monologue on ESPN's Pardon the Interruption about what players are fighting for