In the spotlight: the boycott of American sport following the Jacob Blake affair

Text by: Romain Lemaresquier Follow

4 min

Publicity

In reaction to the Jacob Blake affair, the Milwaukee Bucks team decided this Wednesday evening, August 26, to boycott an NBA game, the North American basketball championship, which caused an earthquake in the United States. This boycott led to the cancellation of all the matches scheduled for Wednesday evening as part of the play-offs, the final phase of the championship, which takes place in Orlando for health reasons. Because shortly after the announcement of the boycott of the Milwaukee Bucks, the movement was emulated and not only in basketball since football, baseball and tennis games were also canceled in the process, details the Washington Post .

Why such a reaction when the facts unfolded last weekend? The Milwaukee Bucks players explained in a statement picked up by USA Today  : "  Despite the massive calls for change, there has been no action, so we cannot focus on basketball today.  " , can we read. Players calling for concrete progress: "  To ensure that this does not happen again, it is imperative that the Wisconsin State Legislature meets again after months of inaction to take meaningful action to resolve the issues. issues of police accountability, brutality and reform of criminal justice.  “NBA games are therefore suspended for the moment. The season could even be over if no agreement is found in the coming hours with the leaders of the championship, this is in any case what the two Los Angeles teams, the Clippers and the Lakers are asking for.

The NBA quickly mobilized after the George Floyd affair. She also called for a change in society and an end to racial injustice. It was one of the messages that was repeated over and over again when the NBA restarted at Disney World in Orlando. The phrase "  Black Lives Matter  " is painted elsewhere on basketball courts, players wear messages calling for change on their jerseys, as do coaches who wear pins also demanding racial justice, the Wisconsin State Journal explains . The daily specifies that many players have even wondered whether to resume competition, fearing that a return to the field will distract attention from the deaths, among others, of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, these last months.

Hurricane Laura makes landfall in the United States

Laura arrived on the coasts of the states of Texas and Louisiana on the night of Wednesday 26th to Thursday 27th. This category four hurricane raises fears of the worst, information which is also on the front page of the American press. Laura made landfall when she was almost in Category 5, reports the Houston Chronicle . According to the daily, this storm ranks among the ten worst hurricanes that have hit the United States. The eye of the hurricane made landfall at one in the morning in Cameron, southern Louisiana, details the Times-Picayune , a New Orleans daily. With winds blowing at more than 240 km / h, the journalist of this daily announces floods and significant destruction. “  It could be the worst hurricane that has ever hit Louisiana,  ” he thinks.

And the first effects are already being felt. According to the Houston Chronicle , more than 170,000 people are without power in Texas and Louisiana, and more blackouts are expected as the hurricane advances. And in the face of this increasingly recurring phenomenon, the New York Times believes that it becomes inevitable to adopt a resettlement strategy using taxpayer money to move entire communities out of flood-prone areas, an idea that is rejected. for years, because too radical, but which risks imposing itself quickly, estimates the New York daily.

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