NBA stars, coaches and other athletes expressed their outrage yesterday over the weekend shooting of a 29-year-old Black man by police in Kenosha, Wis.
Video shows the man, Jacob Blake, trying to get into his van, with an officer pulling Blake’s white T-shirt, then firing several shots at close range into his back. He was listed in serious condition yesterday morning at Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation reported yesterday that the officers involved now are on administrative leave.
Reports said the man was shot seven times.
Milwaukee Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer addressed the shooting in a statement to begin his pregame news conference yesterday, hours before his team was set to face the Magic in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series near Orlando.
“I’d just like to send out my thoughts and prayers to Jacob Blake and his family,” Budenholzer said. “Another young Black man shot by a police officer. We need to have change. We need to be better.”
The Bucks also issued a team statement that read, in part: “We stand firmly against reoccurring issues of excessive use of force and immediate escalation when engaging the black community.
“Our organization will continue to stand for all black lives as we demand accountability and systemic change on behalf of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Sylville Smith, Ernest Lacy, Dontre Hamilton, Tony Robinson, Joel Acevedo and countless other victims. We will work to enact policy change so these incidents no longer exist.”
In the bubble in Orlando, the NBA and its players are marking the Black Lives Matter movement. The phrase is painted on the courts, and a majority of players are wearing a social justice message on their jerseys and Black Lives Matter warmup shirts. Donovan Mitchell, who scored 51 points to lead his Utah Jazz team to a win over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday night, tweeted a photo after the game with a caption that read, “Enough Is Enough Black Lives Matter”
And yesterday morning, he added an angry message:
“THIS IS SICK AND IS A REAL PROBLEM WE DEMAND JUSTICE! ITS CRAZY I DONT HAVE ANY WORDS BUT WTF MAN! THIS IS WHY WE DONT FEEL SAFE!!!!”
Players in other sports also expressed their disbelief at Blake’s shooting.
“Damn they shot that man 7 times…. why can’t 3 officers subdue one male? I truly need answers,” tweeted safety Tyrann Mathieu of the Kansas City Chiefs.
“Stop killing unarmed black people,” New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas wrote.
“go ahead try and explain how 7 rounds in his back makes sense.” tweeted Jack Flaherty, a pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Police were responding to a report of a domestic incident at 5:11 p.m. local time when they encountered Blake, whose three children were in the van.
The shooting set off a night of protests in Kenosha.
