27 Aug 2020

NBA players boycott game after shooting of Jacob Blake

From Checkpoint, 5:27 pm on 27 August 2020

NBA players, including New Zealand's Steven Adams, have boycotted the latest game in their playoff series in protest at the shooting of Jacob Blake.

The Milwaukee Bucks refused to take the court, instead gathering together to call for justice and for the officers responsible for shooting Jacob Blake seven times in the back, to be held accountable.

That historic decision, led the NBA to postpone at least three playoff games.

Major League baseball and soccer games have also been postponed. And two-time grand slam champion Naomi Osaka has also joined the protest withdrawing from a tennis match scheduled for later this week.

But as Nick Truebridge reports, with sport cancellations already bearing the brunt of a global pandemic, it's the shooting of a black man which may bench the rest of the NBA season.

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