Brewers and Reds become first MLB teams to boycott game for Jacob Blake
The Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds are the first teams in Major League Baseball to boycott a game in protest of the police shooting of Jacob Blake, according to a report from Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal.
The move follows the lead of the Milwaukee Bucks, who walked off the court in protest today moments before their playoff game was set to begin.
The Reds have agreed not to play as well. No forfeit situation. Both teams have agreed to sit out tonight’s game. https://t.co/BZJAg8GujJ
— Jared Diamond (@jareddiamond) August 26, 2020
The Brewers and Reds were supposed to play a game tonight in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the same state where Blake — an unarmed Black man — was shot seven times by police recently.
All three playoff games in the NBA today have been postponed, after players in each game decided to boycott. Games on the NBA schedule tomorrow are also in doubt, as teams like the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics are openly considering boycotting.
Kenny Smith just walked out on NBA on TNT in support of the players' boycott pic.twitter.com/N4Ix6CPTLG
— Chris Montano (@gswchris) August 26, 2020
Even former player and NBA on TNT analyst Kenny Smith has walked out.
Following the cancellation of the Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds game tonight, more teams are discussing the possibility of not playing, sources tell ESPN. Among those currently discussing it: the Seattle Mariners, who have the most Black players of any team in MLB.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 26, 2020
It will be interesting to see how many other teams in MLB follow suit. The Seattle Mariners, who are supposed to play in San Diego tonight, are among the teams discussing not playing, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
The Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox have taken to the field in Buffalo today, as have the Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Nationals. But there are many more games on the schedule.
In the wake of the Jacob Blake shooting, the NHL will hold a moment of reflection before tonight's Tampa/Boston game in Toronto and tonight's Colorado/Dallas game in Edmonton.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) August 26, 2020
Meanwhile in the NHL, the league is going to hold a “moment of reflection” but has no plans of postponing games, according to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston.