When social justice initiatives began to ramp up earlier this year, almost every organization in the sporting world put out a statement on social justice in the wake of the George Floyd shooting at the hands of police in Minneapolis. While the majority of those statements were likely earnest, many people are savvy of public relations strategy, and there can be a feeling of hollowness to even the most sincere of crafted statements. On Wednesday, in the fallout of the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, the Milwaukee Bucks were the first NBA team to not take the court in protest, and the team made the loudest statement yet.
In terms of magnitude, the statement of boycotting Game Five of a playoff series is almost unfathomable, especially with a 3-1 lead in the opening round of a lengthy playoff season. The NBA subsequently postponed all games on Wednesday night. A similar protest of the first game of the Toronto Raptors / Boston Celtics series on Thursday is being considered. Many elements of the NBA’s return to play in Orlando have made efforts to keep social justice efforts on viewers’ minds. None, however, make as much of an impact as preventing a nationally televised game from happening altogether.
|
|
Thousands of sports fans all over the country tuned in for the Bucks’ Game Five matchup with the Orlando Magic on Wednesday afternoon. Instead, they watched the NBA’s staff remove the players’ gear from the bench area. With no significant rumblings of a boycott being known prior to tip-off, the team left broadcast crews scrambling. Locally, it allotted for a meaningful conversation on race between broadcasters Jim Paschke, Marques Johnson and Zora Stephenson. A similar discussion took place nationally on NBA TV, ESPN, and national news outlets afterward.
Prior to Wednesday, the comments of point guard George Hill made their rounds online. He told reporters on Tuesday that “We shouldn’t have even came to this damn place, to be honest. I think coming here took all the focal points off of what the issues are.” His comments, as well as the decision to protest the game have largely been praised by other players in the league on social media. Hill left the Bucks’ locker room on Wednesday wearing a shirt that read “change the narrative.”
The Bucks have not been shy about their advocacy for change. Players organized and led their own protest in the wake of George Floyd’s murder in June. Their protest of Game Five on Wednesday, however, is their most substantial movement yet, leaving the NBA and the sporting world with the opportunity to react.
