UPDATE: NBA games scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 27 were also postponed, the league announced.
NBA Executive Vice President Mike Bass said in a statement, “We are hopeful to resume games either Friday or Saturday. There is a video conference call meeting scheduled later this afternoon between a group of NBA players and team governors representing the 13 teams in Orlando, along with representatives from the National Basketball Players Association and the league office and NBA Labor Relations Committee Chairman Michael Jordan, to discuss next steps.”
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NBA players are taking a stand against police brutality.
On Wednesday, Aug. 26, the Milwaukee Bucks decided to boycott Game 5 of their playoff series with the Orlando Magic to protest the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin.
According to ESPN, the Bucks did not come onto the court before the 4 p.m. EST start time. NBA officials later went into the locker room before learning of the team’s boycott.
“Some things are bigger than basketball,” Milwaukee Bucks SVP Alex Lasry shared on Twitter. “The stand taken today by the players and org shows that we’re fed up. Enough is enough. Change needs to happen. I’m incredibly proud of our guys and we stand 100% behind our players ready to assist and bring about real change.”
The Orlando Magic team later issued a statement supporting their competitors.
“Today, we stand united with the NBA Office, the National Basketball Players Association, the Milwaukee Bucks and the rest of the league condemning bigotry, racial injustice and unwarranted use of violence by police against people of color,” the statement read.