Teams boycott games over police shootings

The Milwaukee Bucks remained in their locker room for their playoff game against the Orlando Magic Wednesday in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The boycott comes after a police officer shot 29-year-old Jacob Blake on Sunday in Kenosha, Wis. The NBA later postponed two other playoff games, while player boycotts led to the cancellation of three WNBA games, three Major League Baseball contests, and five Major League Soccer matches on Wednesday.

What are the players saying? Baseball player Dee Gordon of the Seattle Mariners tweeted that the “injustices, violence, death and systemic racism” are deeply personal and have affected family and friends. Players for the Bucks said their focus could not be on basketball at the moment as they called on people to educate themselves and call on their state lawmakers to work on criminal justice reform.

Dig deeper: Read Sharon Dierberger’s report in Muse about Christian athletes responding to onfield protests over racial injustice.