At first the Milwaukee Bucks didn’t compete, then almost all of US sports followed suit. In the night from Wednesday to Thursday, an unprecedented wave of protest against police violence nearly brought the sport to a standstill in the USA.
The Milwaukee Bucks had finally had enough of police brutality and started a huge wave of protests. After the team around the Greek superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo did not appear on Wednesday for their play-off quarter-final game in the NBA on the field in Orlando / Florida, MLB, MLS, the women’s basketball professional league WNBA and the tennis associations ATP and WTA moved in New York to.
The Orlando Magic players stood on the field in Orlando / Florida on Wednesday evening and waited for their opponent, but the Bucks from the US state of Wisconsin did not come – a boycott. A little later, the league canceled the two other games scheduled for Wednesday. “We’re calling for change. We’re sick of it,” wrote Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James Twitter.
The Bucks reacted to the Jacob Blake case with the drastic step. The black man was shot from behind by white police officers last weekend. The 29-year-old apparently hit seven bullets in the back, he is fighting for his life in the hospital. The crime took place in Kenosha, Wisconsin – Milwaukee is in the same state.
Only a few hours later, the former tennis world number one Naomi Osaka followed suit and announced her retirement before her semi-final match at the Western & Southern Open in New York against Belgian Elise Mertens. “As a black woman, I feel like there are far more important things that require immediate attention than watching me play tennis,” said Osaka. For Thursday, all games at the dress rehearsal for the US Open were canceled.