Here is the league’s full statement:
Wednesday’s game between the Bucks and Magic was set to begin at 4 p.m. ET, but Milwaukee players never emerged from the locker room for pregame warmups. Orlando players took the floor at the usual time for warmups, but they returned to their locker room once it became clear that the Bucks did not intend to play.
MORE: Doc Rivers delivers impassioned call for justice
Game balls were removed from the court at approximately 4:20 p.m. ET.
A video released Sunday night showed Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, being shot multiple times in the back by police officers as he attempted to get into his SUV. Blake’s three children, ages 3, 5 and 8, were reportedly inside the vehicle. Blake family attorney Ben Crump said Blake is paralyzed and it would “take a miracle” for him to walk again.
“We’re tired of the killings and the injustice,” Bucks guard George Hill told Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated.
While inside the locker room, Milwaukee players were attempting to reach Josh Kaul, the attorney general of Wisconsin, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
The Bucks’ three principal team owners — Marc Lasry, Wes Edens and Jamie Dinan — released a joint statement Wednesday night saying they “fully support” the players’ decision.
“Although we did not know beforehand, we would have wholeheartedly agreed with them,” they wrote. “The only way to bring about change is to shine a light on the racial injustices that are happening in front of us. Our players have done that and we will continue to stand alongside them and demand accountability and change.”
NBA players will hold a meeting Wednesday night to discuss their next steps following the boycott, per multiple reports.
