Sports
Warriors’ Bob Myers Says ‘You’ve Gotta Respect’ NBA Players for Playoff Strike
Paul Sakuma/Associated PressGolden State Warriors president Bob Myers expressed his support for NBA players who used their platform to go on strike during the playoffs in protest of Sunday’s shooting of Jacob Blake by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin.Speaking to Tim Kawakami of The Athletic, Myers said, “you’ve gotta respect the players” for voicing their anger…
Paul Sakuma/Associated Press
Golden State Warriors president Bob Myers expressed his support for NBA players who used their platform to go on strike during the playoffs in protest of Sunday's shooting of Jacob Blake by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Speaking to Tim Kawakami of The Athletic, Myers said, “you've gotta respect the players” for voicing their anger at the ongoing racial injustice against Black people in the United States:
“They're the ones putting themselves on the line here. And you have to respect that. And hopefully, it's a message to all of us. This is not a fight they can win alone. It's going to take everybody's help. I commend them for putting themselves — you know, they're the ones risking something right now. So I commend them for that.”
The Milwaukee Bucks were the first team to strike when they didn't come out of the locker room for tipoff of Game 5 of their Eastern Conference playoff series against the Orlando Magic.
The NBA and National Basketball Players Association later announced all three of Wednesday's scheduled playoff games—Bucks vs. Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Houston Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers vs. Los Angeles Lakers—had been postponed.
Myers noted the players' decision “is not something I imagine they did lightheartedly or without thought or intention.”
It's unclear at this point if the NBA season will resume. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Malika Andrews reported players have a meeting scheduled for 11 a.m. ET on Thursday to discuss how they might proceed with the postseason.
The NBA board of governors has also scheduled an 11 a.m. meeting, per Wojnarowski.
According to ESPN's Elle Duncan, Wednesday marked the first time NBA players sat out a game in protest since 1961 when Bill Russell led a movement for the Boston Celtics after they were refused seating at a coffee shop in Kentucky before an exhibition game.
Per CNN's Nicole Chavez, Blake's attorney said the 29-year-old is partially paralyzed and dealing with multiple injuries after being shot in the back seven times by a police officer Sunday.
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