NBA players have decided to resume the playoffs, says a source Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Thursday’s three playoff games will be postponed, the league announced.
Players will hold a meeting at 11 a.m. ET and continue discussions about the timing of the playoff replay – with an expectation that a Saturday return of games later Thursday will be finalized.
“A video conferencing meeting is scheduled for this afternoon between a group of NBA players and team leaders representing the 13 teams in Orlando, along with representatives from the National Basketball Players Association and the league office and NBA Labor Relations Committee Michael Jordan, to discuss next steps, “NBA Director Vice President Mike Bass said in a statement.
Those next steps are to formulate action plans to address racial issues and details about restarting the playoffs, according to a source.
Change does not happen with just talking !! It happens with action and must happen NOW! For me @IPROMISESchool children, children and communities across the country, it is up to the US to make a difference. All together. That is why your voice is @morethanavote ✊🏾 #BlackLivesMatter
– LeBron James (@KingJames) August 27, 2020
On Wednesday, the Milwaukee Bucks – the NBA team from Wisconsin, a state that has been shaken in recent days by the shooting of police officer Jacob Blake, a black man – did not take the floor for their playoffs. match against the Orlando Magic. The teams were set to begin Game 5 of their series shortly after 4 pm ET, with the Bucks needing a win to advance to the second round. That matchup, along with the games Oklahoma City Thunder-Houston Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers-Los Angeles Lakers, was postponed.
Demanding social change and ending racial injustice has been a major part of the NBA’s breakthrough at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. The phrase “Black Lives Matter” is painted on the arena courts, players have messages to adjust to their jerseys, and coaches pin up demanding racial justice.
Many players wrestled for weeks over whether it was even right to play, for fear that a return to games in recent months would draw attention to the deaths of, among others, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd.
Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman, was shot dead when police broke into her Louisville, Kentucky apartment with a no-knock command during a drug investigation in March. The order was in connection with a suspect who did not live there, and no drugs were found.
Floyd, who was Black, died on May 25 after a Minneapolis white police officer punched Floyd in the neck for nearly eight minutes. That was captured on a video from mobile.
Wednesday’s postponed NBA games came on the fourth anniversary of Colin Kaepernick’s first protest against the national anthem for an NFL preseason game. Kaepernick sat through the national anthem for his first protest, saying he was protesting against racial inequality and abuse of minority police. He knelt during the anthem for the rest of the 2016 season.
ESPN’s Tim MacMahon and The Undefeated’s Marc J. Spears contributed to this story.
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