On August 26, local time, the Bucks announced that they would strike out in the NBA playoffs with Magic. According to reports, the Bucks, Thunder, Lakers and other NBA teams announced a strike on the same day. The NBA urgently announced the postponement of the three playoff games originally scheduled to be held on Wednesday.
China News Service, August 27. For sports enthusiasts in the United States, the past two days may not have been so good. The American sports world, which has been shut down due to the epidemic since February, has gradually recovered its vitality, but now they have once again fallen into widespread turmoil. This time it was not very much related to the epidemic. The cause of the incident was another incident in which a white policeman shot a black man.
Beijing time on the 27th, due to the strike of the team led by the Bucks, all three playoff games originally planned by the NBA were postponed. James, the representative of the NBA league, directly exploded on social media and said that "we need to change." What kind of incident caused such an uproar?
Screenshot of James' social media.
A video widely circulated on social media showed that on the afternoon of the 23rd local time, Black, a black man in Kenosha, Wisconsin, walked to the driver’s seat of the car and opened the door to get into the car. He was grabbed by two policemen behind his T-shirt. At least seven shots were fired at his back at close range. It is reported that the police received an alarm and came to deal with a "family incident."
On the afternoon of the 25th local time, Black's parents and three sisters attended the press conference in Kenosha. Patrick, the family’s lawyer, said at least one bullet cut off Black’s spinal cord, and other bullets injured his kidneys, liver and arms.
Black’s father said that the shooting paralyzed his 29-year-old son from the waist down, and doctors did not know whether this was permanent. Currently, Black is still being treated in the hospital. He said, "I am sorry for this...I don't want to be a burden to anyone."
After the shooting, riots broke out in Kenosha, and some commercial and government buildings and vehicles at car dealerships were set on fire. The demonstrators also clashed with the riot police, and smoke billowed everywhere in the local city center.
On August 26, local time, after the Bucks struck in the NBA playoffs with the Magic, NBA officials stood in the empty court. According to reports, the Bucks, Thunder, Lakers and other NBA teams announced on the same day that they would strike in solidarity with Wisconsin's street demonstrations after an African-American man Blake was severely injured by police shooting in Kenosha.
And this "fire" of protest eventually burned into the American sports arena. The Bucks, who were the first to strike in an NBA game, have their home stadium located in the state of Conswiss.
After the Bucks decided to strike, they also issued a team statement: When we represent Wisconsin and Milwaukee, we will be expected to play a high-level game, put in the most effort, and urge each other. We demand ourselves with such standards, and now we require legislative and law enforcement agencies to also act on this standard.
In addition to the NBA strike, WNBA teams also chose to strike on the same day. The players who were going to participate in the game were kneeling on one knee, arm in arm, and some of them were wearing T-shirts with English letters printed on them, forming Black's full name.
Screenshots of foreign media reports.
The strike is not limited to the basketball court. MLB (Major League Baseball) also has three games postponed because of the player's strike, and the reason is also to protest the shooting. Several games of MLS (Major League Soccer) were also postponed due to the team's strike.
Some American media felt that the NBA, WNBA, MLB and MLS all had a strike or postponement. This is an unprecedented day in the history of sports.
In addition, at the Cincinnati tennis tournament in the United States, Grand Slam champion and Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka announced his retirement in protest of the shooting after reaching the semi-finals of the tournament. She wrote on social media: "I am an athlete, but I am a black woman first."
Data map: The women's singles final of the 2019 China Open was staged. The fourth seed Naomi Osaka won the championship with a 2:1 reversal of the world number one Batty. The picture shows Naomi Osaka in the competition. Photo by Li Peiyun, China News Service
Subsequently, the WTA and ATP issued a joint statement, in order to support racial equality and social justice, to protest against the shooting of black people by the US police, the event will be suspended for one day on the 27th local time.
As more and more events are postponed and more and more athletes join the strike, the newly resurrected American sports world has been hit hard again. How did this strike? At present, no one can give a clear answer. Perhaps before the racial problem in American society is resolved, the protests in the sports circle will continue to the end, and the turmoil will continue to follow. (Finish)