• NBA: Other Historic Strikes Against Racism

George Hill had already decided not to play the Orlando Magic. The Bucks guard accompanied the team to the pavilion but had warned his coach, Mike Budenholzer , that he would not play in protest of the police attack on Jacob Blake and the murder of two protesters in Kenosha, about 60 kilometers from Milwaukee. No one else in the locker room knew. Some players even went out to warm up. Only in the previous one did they know that Hill had been deleted from the game.

The situation had been brewing for days. The event had raised the tone of the protests and Hill had been one of the sharpest. "From here inside we can't do anything. To be honest, we shouldn't even have come here to begin with. We have taken the focus away from what's really important." The Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors had already considered boycotting the first game of the Eastern semifinals, but had not done anything.

On the floor the Magic were already doing the preliminary round, but there were only a few minutes left until the game and no one was leaving the Bucks dressing room. Inside, the players were debating the boycott. It happened on the fly. When Hill explained his reasons, some colleagues showed their support and the debate won whole. The rumor began to circulate and more and more people were gathering at the door. Security, league personnel, journalists. In the pavilion the horn sounded, but only the Magic were on the floor.

George Hill was the leader of a boycott that ended up spreading not only to the rest of the NBA, but to North American sports. The WNBA, MLS soccer, MLB baseball, or tennis canceled games. In American football, which has not yet started the season, training sessions were canceled.

After two days of hiatus, the NBA picked up the playoffs where it had left them, with that duel between Milwaukee and Orlando. Following the bubble's 'new normal', the teams wore T-shirts with the slogan 'Black Lives Matter' and knelt during the anthem with their arms linked. The news broke seconds later: George Hill had stayed in the changing room tunnel.

It was taken for granted that it was a new protest. Like Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf did , who would stretch out in the locker room during the hymn. Like Colin Kaepernick , he had been doing it for a while when it first made headlines. Abdul-Rauf (born Chris Jackson) considered the flag "a sign of tyranny and oppression" and preferred not to be at the ceremony. The NBA sanctioned him and forced him to be there, although he let him do it by praying. Abdul-Rauf, a star, finished out of the league.

When the cameras focused on Hill in the locker room tunnel, a new protest was thought, but apparently his reasons were much more mundane: "I go to the bathroom before every game. I've been doing it for four years. What happens is that now you were attentive. But if you watch any previous game, you will notice ".

Bucks and Lakers go round

So there was no protest, neither in this nor in any of the other parties. Complying with the forecasts, the Milwaukee Bucks won (118-104) and are already in the next round, where they will face the Miami Heat. The Lakers also won (131-122) with 79 points from LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and they expect a rival, who will come out of the duel between Houston and Oklahoma. The Rockets regained control of the tie from Russell Westbrook (114-80).

"It's great to be back and, more importantly, have a plan and put it into action right away," LeBron said. Because although the entire NBA supported the boycott, there was discomfort among the players for having done it on the fly, without notifying others and without having a clear plan of action.

James was referring to the three-point program that the NBA approved this Friday: create a committee of players, coaches and owners to promote social reforms; that all franchises that own their flag convert it into an electoral college; and include advertising during the parties that promote the vote in the next elections.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • sports
  • basketball

NBA 2019 - 2020The serious racist insult to Doncic before his injury and the loss of the Clippers

NBAL Playoffs Mavericks froze over Doncic's injury against Clippers

NBA 2019 - 2020 Ricky Rubio's Suns are still in their bubble

See links of interest

  • Last minute
  • Spanish translator
  • Programming
  • 2020 calendar
  • Horoscope today
  • League classification
  • Santander League Calendar
  • Movies Today
  • Topics
  • Live, the 1st stage: Nice - Nice