Israel Adesanya joins the decision of its fellow professional athletes to stop in protest against a police shooting in Wisconsin earlier this week.
The UFC middleweight champion said he praised NBA players for boycotting game in response to the shooting of Jacob Blake by a Kenosha police officer. During that shooting, captured on video, the city erupted in daily and nightly protests. Things went awry earlier this week with the shooting of three people, presumably by an armed teenager from the state. Two of the victims died.
The Milwaukee Bucks players refused to go to court on Wednesday for their game against the Orlando Magic. Later, players from other teams followed suit, forcing the NBA to postpone all of its Wednesday playoff games. The games are expected to resume on Saturday and Thursday’s games are scheduled for Sunday, according to ESPN.
Blake, a Black man, was shot seven times in the back while trying to enter the driver’s side of his car. Blake, according to statements from his parents, is currently paralyzed from the waist down.
Adesanya said he is pleased to see NBA players taking a stand.
“If the NBA exits, if they explicitly withdraw their money, then that’s the money from the owners and the shareholders and whatever – so good,” Adesnaya told The Luke Thomas show. “If that’s what is needed to bring about change, then fine.”
Adesnaya, one of the UFC’s biggest stars, has publicly supported the Black Lives Matter movement. In June, Adesanya called for a BLM rally outside the US Embassy in his adopted hometown of Auckland, New Zealand, to take a stand against racism and police brutality over Black Lives following the assassination of George Floyd.
The 31-year-old fighter said he has yet to see the viral video of Blake’s shooting.
“I find my own way of changing the world around me, but I do that away from the media,” Adesanya said. ‘I try to respond, not to respond. But I feel that is what they want. They want us to respond. They want us to point the finger at each other, side by side. “My God is better than your God.” “My race is better than your race.” “My people are better than your people.”
Like, what is the (explicit) Blue Lives Matter? You choose to be a police officer. You choose not to be black. It is a privilege to be Black. Bottom line, I choose to respond, not to respond, so I take my time because it just happened. But good for the players in the NBA to do that. I praise them for that. ”
Adesanya is currently scheduled to defend his 185-pound title against Brazilian Paulo Costa at UFC 253 on Sept. 26.
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