Along with the NBA, the WNBA postponed its three scheduled games for Wednesday following the shooting of Jacob Blake.
ESPN broke the news at the start of a broadcast meant to air a contest between the Washington Mystics and Atlanta Dream.
WNBA players from the Mystics, Dream, Lynx, Sun, Mercury and Sparks take a knee and lock arms while wearing shirts that spell out Jacob Blake
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 26, 2020
No WNBA games will be played tonight. pic.twitter.com/MkdApV31Bu
WNBA players and other personnel began the evening with an emotional and visual demonstration:
Jacob Blake on the front and seven bullet holes on the back
— Jasmine (@JasmineLWatkins) August 26, 2020
The WNBA ain’t new to this, they been true to this https://t.co/2e3E50umRN
Atlanta center Elizabeth Williams read a statement on the air about the decision to take the night off:
Center @E_Williams_1 reads statement on @espn as the representative for all @WNBA players. Tonight's games have been cancelled. pic.twitter.com/xDz4uCQSiD
— Atlanta Dream (@AtlantaDream) August 26, 2020
The WNBA postponements occurred hours after 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.
The NBA eventually postponed at least Wednesday's fixtures. It's possible other games and the remainder of the season could be in jeopardy if handfuls of players choose to leave the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex bubble site following a Wednesday evening conference call.
Additionally, the Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds elected to not play Wednesday's MLB game scheduled to take place at Miller Park.
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