On Wednesday, the WNBA postponed three games set to be played in Bradenton, Florida, to protest the shooting of Jacob Blake and other social justice grievances.
Players took to the court, not to play, but to wear bloody bullet hole t-shirts, which spelled out Blake’s name on the front, and to take a knee in “solidarity.”
“We stand in solidarity with our brothers in the NBA and we continue this conversation with our brothers and sisters across all leagues and look to take collective action,” said a statement from Atlanta Dream’s Elizabeth Williams on behalf of all WNBA players, the BBC noted.
“If you truly believe that black lives matter, then go and vote,” the statement added.
The bullet holes on the back of the players’ shirts were representative of the shooting of Blake on Sunday in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Police were called to the location over a domestic disturbance. When officers attempted to arrest the 29-year-old, he opened his car door and reached inside, triggering gunshots from the police.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) announced Wednesday that Blake had a knife on the floorboard of his vehicle.
“During the investigation following the initial incident, Mr. Blake admitted that he had a knife in his possession,” the department said in a statement, as reported by The Daily Wire. “DCI agents recovered a knife from the driver’s side floorboard of Mr. Blake’s vehicle. A search of the vehicle located no additional weapons.”
According to Blake’s family, he is alive and partially paralyzed.
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— CJ Fogler #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) August 26, 2020
The WNBA was widely praised on the Left for the stunt, including by former President Barack Obama.
“I commend the players on the [Bucks] for standing up for what they believe in, coaches like [Doc Rivers], and the [NBA] and [WNBA] for setting an example,” Obama posted via Twitter. “It’s going to take all our institutions to stand up for our values.”
On Thursday, it was announced that both the Los Angeles Clippers and Lakers have voted in favor of boycotting the rest of the 2020 season over the Blake shooting.
“Players and coaches met Wednesday night after the Milwaukee Bucks team refused to come out of the locker room to play the Orlando Magic in Game 5 of the first round of playoffs. The Bucks players, who were protesting over Blake’s shooting, prompted the league to suspend the rest of playoff play,” The Daily Wire reported.
“During the Wednesday night meeting, the teams were asked whether they wanted to continue with the 2020 season. All but two teams, including the Bucks, voted to continue playing, but the Clippers and Lakers teams both voted to boycott the rest of the season. After the vote, Lakers star LeBron James walked out of the meeting in a move that ‘shocked’ the rest of the players. The meeting ended ‘ugly,’ sources told The Athletic.”
Related: Wisconsin DOJ Finds Jacob Blake Had Weapon On Floorboard Of Car