The owners of the Milwaukee Bucks released a statement supporting the decision of their players to not partake in Wednesday’s (Aug. 26) playoff game against the Orlando Magic.
Earlier that day, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski announced that Milwaukee players decided to stay in their locker rooms during that night’s game. Fans as well as other participants of the league praised the decision which set a precedent that the Los Angeles Lakers, Portland Trail Blazers, OKC Thunder and Houston Rockets later followed.
Soon enough, the owners of the Bucks agreed that the decision of the players was a great way to increase awareness about racial inequality and demand change.
“We fully support our players and the decision they made,” the statement read. “Although we did not know beforehand, we would have wholeheartedly agreed with them. The only way to bring about change is to shine a light on the racial injustices that are happening in front of us. Our players have done that and we will continue to stand alongside them and demand accountability and change.”
It is not shocking that they supported the players. Once they learnt that Jacob Blake, a young Black man who was unarmed was shot several times by the cops as his children watched on, the coach of the team Michael Budenholzer started a Zoom session to express condolences to Blake’s family and demand change.
“I’d just like to send out my thoughts and prayers to Jacob Blake and his family, another young Black man shot by a police officer,” Budenholzer said. “We need to have change, we need to be better and I’m hoping for the best for him and his family. I’m hoping for the best as we work through this in Wisconsin and in Milwaukee and in Kenosha. So, thoughts and prayers with Jacob Blake.”
Later, the team released a statement stating that they are “firmly against recurring issues of excessive use of force and immediate escalation when engaging the Black community.”
© 2020, Jonathan P-Wright. All rights reserved.
