Orlando (United States) (AFP)

The Toronto and Boston players may not play their first game of the Eastern Conference semifinals, in the NBA play-offs scheduled for Thursday, after police firing on Jacob Blake, multiple media reported Wednesday.

"The Raptors and Celtics players met on Tuesday night to discuss a boycott of the game," The Undefeated said, citing sources within both teams.

According to this well-informed specialized site, everything remains possible and the players must meet again this Wednesday evening to make a decision.

For its part, Yahoo Sports ensures that discussions are also taking place within the players' union (NBPA), between the latter and members of their executive committee, on how such an action could be carried out.

According to the site, players told the NBPA they didn't have their minds to play basketball, with a number of them saying they were psychologically affected by the video showing 29-year-old black man Jacob Blake being shot over it by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Sunday.

The footage shows the young African-American being followed by two police officers with their guns drawn as he walks around a car.

An officer grabs his white tank top as he opens the door and tries to get into the driver's seat. The police officer then fires - the recording suggests seven shots - hitting the father in the back, who is currently paralyzed.

Her family's lawyer said three of her children, boys aged 3, 5 and 8, were in the vehicle during the incident.

- Guilt -

Since then, the town of Kenosha has become the scene of protests punctuated by violence and two people were shot dead overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday.

Also according to Yahoo Sports, the union's approach is to measure the benefits and drawbacks of a boycott, knowing that it will support the players whatever their decision. Some of them say they feel guilty about playing basketball and entertaining people who cover up such injustices.

There is also a dialogue on what more could be done, inside the Disney World bubble, to accentuate the fight against racial injustice, including police violence against blacks.

"We knew whether or not coming here wasn't going to stop anything. But I think at the end of the day to play or not to play puts pressure on someone. It would be nice if we all said we didn't. let's not play, and that the owner of the Milwaukee Bucks follow suit, if he takes his responsibilities to put pressure on the governor, the prosecutor to create real change and justice be done, "suggested Toronto point guard Fred VanVleet Tuesday.

"I know it's not that simple, but at the end of the day, if we're just standing there talking about change, at some point we're going to have to put our hearts ... on the table and put ourselves in a position of losing something, more than money or visibility, ”he concluded.

© 2020 AFP