NBA Reacts to Jacob Blake Incident

On Sunday, August 23rd, an incident involving 29-year-old black male, Jacob Blake, and a police officer ended in what was almost a tragedy. Around 5 pm the police were called to Blake’s residence because of “family trouble.” After not being compliant with the officers, yet still not showing he was threatening the officers, according to the video, Blake was shot in the back seven times from point-blank range. To the players of these professional leagues in America, this was like rubbing salt on an open wound.

Its been a rough summer for a multitude of reasons, but the death of George Floyd was an absolute low point that caused protesting and riots, and many people including athletes to speak out. There was supposed to be a great turn around, and a move forward from there, or so we thought. In the NBA, games were temporarily stopped by a unanimous decision made by the players. Starting with the Milwaukee Bucks, players thought that it was too much for the league to ask them to play based on this heartbreaking moment that happened in their own state. There were many emotional reactions that were seen and heard, and Coach of the L.A. Clippers, Doc Rivers, was one of the people to voice his frustration. “It’s amazing to me why we keep loving this country, and this country does not love [us] back” Coach Rivers stated in his after game press conference. ESPN host of Pardon The Interruption, Michael Wilbon, had a passionate statement on what it is he sees currently going on in the NBA, saying these reactions from players and coaches are based on problems that immediately need to be solved. “I am not singing kumbaya, I do not believe the country has made a turn, I don’t, [because] people are still getting shot” Wilbon expressed on ESPN’s Pardon The Interruption. People around the NBA are hurt because after all the work that was done, protests, speeches, and ideas to bring recognition to the “Black Lives Matter” cause, there is still a long way to go.

Not only the NBA but in the NFL, teams have had a cancellation of practices because of what is going on. In the MLB, 10 games were postponed to show they were for the cause even though they are pretty new to this, being a Caucasian dominated sport. For the NBA, there may be much frustration with what is going, but they are rubbing off on other leagues, and we should motivate them to continue. We just hope their voices will reach the powers of America that allow situations like Jacob Blake’s to happen.