WNBA players opted not to play for the second night in a row Thursday in response to Kenosha police officer shooting Jacob Blake in the back multiple times Sunday. The league postponed all three of its scheduled games for Thursday night, which included a matchup between the Chicago Sky and the Indiana Fever.
Players gathered on the court at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., and stood with their arms locked, all wearing shirts that read “Arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor” as they demanded accountability and made calls to action.
“The players of the WNBA use today to reflect,” WNBPA President and Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike said in a statement on “SportsCenter.” “It’s important to note that this is not a strike. This is not a boycott. This is affirmatively a day of reflection. A day of informed action and mobilization.”
The WNBA players’ decision comes one day after the Milwaukee Bucks sparked a movement that has spread across the sports world. The Bucks opting not to play Game 5 of their first-round NBA playoff series led to the postponement of all games in both professional basketball leagues Wednesday and Thursday as well as scattered postponements in Major League Soccer and Major League Baseball.
The WNBA long has been at the forefront of pushing for racial justice. The actions of the players helped push NBA players to go beyond the league’s approved messages and themes for the season and evolve in their protest. Several players sat out this season to continue their activist work, and the players who did enter the bubble pledged to dedicate this season to the Black Lives Matter movement and Say Her Name.
“We are doubling down on our previous calls to action to contact your local officials and demand reform, register to vote and show up on Election Day, complete the 2020 Census and be counted,” Ogwumike said.
“Today we call upon Kentucky attorney general Daniel Cameron to arrest the officers that killed Breonna Taylor. Today we call upon the Wisconsin attorney general Josh Kaul to investigate the officers who were involved in the shooting of Jacob Blake. Let us not let up seeking justice for Sandra Bland, Michelle Cusseaux, Shelly Frey, Korryn Gaines, India Kager, Kayla Moore, Layleen Polanco, Michelle Shirley and other Black and Brown women who are victims of police violence.”
These actions keep with the theme of this unprecedented 2020 season.
At the start of the year, players around the WNBA walked off the court at the start of the national anthem. Breonna Taylor’s name is on the back of each of their jerseys. Sky players pledged to donate money to local organizations in the city for every game they won and point they scored before team ownership decided to match the investment. Players wore shirts in support of the Rev. Raphael Warnock, who is running for a U.S. Senate seat in Georgia.
And on Wednesday, players appeared on TV wearing white shirts that spelled out Blake’s name on the front with seven red dots on the back, representing the seven gunshots police fired at Blake.
“If you’re watching or listening and you understand the humanity in the movement for Black lives and you recognize that your voice matters, do not remain idle,” Ogwumike said. “Demand that your leaders step up and take real action. Do something today.”
Sky owners Michael Alter and John Rogers issued a statement supporting the players’ decision.
“The principal owners of the Chicago Sky are incredibly proud of the inspiring and courageous leadership on social justice issues displayed by the powerful women of the Sky and the WNBA and we continue to support their ongoing efforts to shine a light on these injustices — especially towards women of color — and their actions to make our nation better, stronger and equitable,” the statement read.