NBA Boycott Over Racial Discrimination Protest... 'Games to Resume Within Days'

NBA Association to Resume Playoff Schedule Within Days
Pro Players Boycott Games in Protest of Wisconsin Kenosha Incident
Trump Criticizes, "NBA Has Become a Political Group"

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] NBA players have decided to resume the suspended playoff games within a few days. The entire U.S. sports community had entered a boycott starting with the Milwaukee Bucks, the NBA team based in the region, in protest of a black man being shot by police in front of his children.

On the 27th (local time), the NBA Association announced that the boycott, which began as a protest against police violence and racial discrimination, would end in a day or two and the game schedule would resume.

Basketball arena empty due to NBA players' boycott
Photo by EPA Yonhap News

Earlier, Milwaukee players did not show up for the Game 5 of the first round of the NBA playoffs against the Orlando Magic scheduled for the previous day. Subsequently, Orlando Magic players also left the court, and the games between Houston-Oklahoma City and LA Lakers-Portland were postponed as well. NBA players were outraged by the incident in a Kenosha residential area where black man Jacob Blake was shot seven times by police in front of his children. Blake's attorney claims that Blake, who had a confrontation with the police, went to check on his children in the vehicle when the police shot him from behind. Blake is reported to have been paralyzed from the waist down due to the shooting.

The Milwaukee Bucks players, who took action first, decided to boycott the game in protest of the incident occurring in their home state of Wisconsin. Bucks players said, "We could not focus on basketball because of what happened in Kenosha." This stance by the players influenced other professional games as well. The Bucks organization also expressed support for the players' decision. Other teams subsequently expressed solidarity. NBA games were postponed on the 26th and 27th.

Besides the NBA, the North American Ice Hockey League (NHL) and Major League Baseball (MLB) were also postponed. Foreign media explained that while U.S. sports players have exercised their influence several times to protest racial discrimination and other issues, such a collective response is unprecedented.

Meanwhile, regarding the boycott of games by professional players protesting racial discrimination, U.S. President Donald Trump criticized, saying, "The evaluation of the NBA is not good," and "They have become like a political group."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.