The Mariners are the latest team that has elected not to play amid player protests of the shooting of Jacob Blake. Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Mariners vote to not play vs. Padres amid player protests

By Zac Wassink | Last updated Aug 26, 2020 7:56 PM ET

Wednesday's game between the Seattle Mariners and San Diego Padres at Petco Park became the second postponed MLB contest amid athlete protests over the shooting of Jacob Blake.

Previously, the Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds chose to take the night off rather than play at Miller Park.

Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Seattle players voted to opt out of competing. Yahoo Sports relayed a note from ESPN's Jeff Passan that the Mariners currently have more Black players than any other MLB club:

The Seattle Mariners, who have the most Black players of any MLB team, will not play tonight's game against the San Diego Padres, per @JeffPassan. pic.twitter.com/VhcKS6TXyB
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) August 26, 2020

On Wednesday afternoon, the Milwaukee Bucks became the first professional sports franchise to go on strike to protest the shooting of Blake, a Black man who was shot at least seven times by police officers in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Sunday. Blake survived the incident but is reportedly paralyzed.

After members of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets threatened to not take the court for their game, the NBA postponed all three of its Wednesday fixtures. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the remainder of the NBA season could be in jeopardy.

The WNBA also called off its three games planned for Wednesday evening.

Zac Wassink

Zac Wassink is a longtime sports news writer and PFWA member who began his career in 2006 and has had his work featured on Yardbarker, MSN, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. He is also a football and futbol aficionado who is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and who chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. You can find him on X at @ZacWassink

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