NBA players choose not to take the court for playoff games to protest shooting of Jacob Blake

The NBA announced all three first-round Game 5s are postponed after the players decided to boycott after the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Before the first game of the day, the Milwaukee Bucks didn’t take the floor for their matchup against the Orlando Magic, and word began to break that this is a joint decision by the players union.

The Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder game was scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. PT, while the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers were set to tip-off three hours later.

Blake, 29, was shot seven times in the back by a Kenosha Police Officer in front of his children. Eye-witnesses posted videos of the incident on social media in which three officers can be seen shouting with their weapons pointed at Blake, while he walks around of a parked SUV. When Blake opened the door and reached inside, one officer pulls his shirt and fires into the vehicle. The investigation is ongoing, but Bucks players have reportedly reached out to Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul, who is overseeing the case. Two officers have been put on administrative leave.

NBA players and coaches have been very vocal about racial inequality since moving into the Orlando, Florida bubble. Several players joined protests across the nation after the murder of George Floyd demanding more accountability in police shootings, prior to the league’s restart.

L.A. Clippers’ head coach Doc Rivers passionately spoke about racial inequality after his team’s Game 5 win over the Dallas Mavericks.

Several Golden State Warriors players, including Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, as well as head coach Steve Kerr have all supported the Black Lives Matter movement in recent months.

The Athletic’s Shams Charania says that during a meeting in the bubble, the Los Angeles Lakers, and L.A. Clippers voted to end the season, while most of the remaining teams said they wanted to finish up the postseason. Charania is reporting that LeBron James walked out of the meeting.

There will be a league-wide meeting on Thursday involving the players, and Board of Governors, along with commissioner Adam Silver, among others. This is a fluid situation, but the it looks like there is some momentum to end the NBA season.