The Milwaukee Bucks decided not to play its playoff game on Wednesday to protest the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, WI. Their strike caused a domino effect that spread to other leagues.
But if they all play tomorrow or even the rest of the season do their actions on Wednesday even matter?
(By the way, the athletes did not boycott. It’s called a wildcat strike since it has to do with labor, not consumers.)
Anyway, at first, it did not bother me. They can do whatever they want. I do not care.
It did bother me when I saw these statements from Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell:
The San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners decided not to play. However:
The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants did not play Wednesday night. It also looks like they’ll play a doubleheader on Thursday.
Just one day? If this is so important then your strike should last longer than a day. I understand these men have a job to do, but to me, it does not feel like it’s as important as they claim if they choose to sit out one game:
“Despite the overwhelming plea for change, there has been no action, so our focus today cannot be on basketball,” the players said. “When we take the court and represent Milwaukee and Wisconsin, we are expected to play at a high level, give maximum effort and hold each other accountable. We hold ourselves to that standard, and in this moment, we are demanding the same from our lawmakers and law enforcement.”In a separate statement, the team’s owners said they supported the move — even though they hadn’t known about it beforehand.”The only way to bring about change is to shine a light on the racial injustices that are happening in front of us,” they said. “Our players have done that and we will continue to stand alongside them and demand accountability and change.”
I’m struggling to find the words to express my confusion. It seems like it’s grandstanding and they’re doing it to bring attention to themselves. Plus, the shooting happened on August 23. Considering the turmoil happening in the country, why did it take three days for all these teams to do this?
If they want changes or think everything is unfair then walk off the court or ball field for more than one game. Get into the community. Get heavily involved.
Great, you get people talking for a day, but once you play again that conversation goes out the window.
Like I said, I know these sports are their jobs. But the subject appears to be something so near and dear to their hearts that they felt like they couldn’t play on Wednesday. Just one game?
You cannot change people in one day. You cannot change the way people think in one day. It’s gradual. If it means so much to you to end police brutality then you have got to stay on message all the time.
Look at what Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. This is bigger than the game?
Be the change you want to see. Don’t just say words and strike for one or even two games. I keep seeing people say that silence is violence. Okay, but actions speak louder than words.
I’ll believe their sincerity more if they continue their strike.
[Featured image via YouTube]
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