Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


NFL Joins NBA Racial Injustice Protest

VOA News

   Protests against perceived racial injustice and police brutality in the
   wake of another police shooting of a Black man spread to the National
   Football League Thursday, one day after players from the National
   Basketball Association's Milwaukee Bucks opted not to take part in a
   playoff game.
   The NFL's Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, the New York Jets and
   the Washington Football Team canceled practices in response to the
   police shooting of Jacob Blake in midwestern U.S. state of Wisconsin.
   The shooting happened three months after George Floyd, another Black
   man, died in police custody in the midwestern city of Minneapolis,
   sparking nationwide protests.
   The Jets did not immediately disclose why practice was canceled, but
   the Lions tweeted they called off practice "in response to the police
   shooting of Jason Blake" and added that, "We won't be silent."
   The Packers tweeted: "Enough is enough. It's time for a change."

     Enough is enough.
     It's time for change. [1]pic.twitter.com/AS7wP9qz2x
     -- Green Bay Packers (@packers) [2]June 4, 2020

   And the Colts said: "THE TEAM WILL USE THE DAY TO DISCUSS AND WORK
   TOWARD MAKING A LASTING SOCIAL IMPACT AND INSPIRING CHANGE IN OUR
   COMMUNITIES."

     [3]pic.twitter.com/SZlH4eQDvb
     -- Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) [4]August 27, 2020

   Washington Football Team coach Ron Rivera said in a statement that "the
   players, coaches and football staff will meet as a football family and
   we'll continue our open dialogue on the issues of racism and social
   injustice in our country."

   Players for the Bucks opted not to play Wednesday night in order to
   call attention to perceived injustices against the African American
   community and call for lawmakers and law enforcement to institute
   meaningful changes.

   The decision had wide-ranging reverberations throughout the country,
   and by the end of the night the other two scheduled NBA games were
   postponed, as were all three Women's National Basketball Association
   games, three Major League Baseball games and five Major League Soccer
   Games as players expressed the importance of protesting injustice over
   playing games. Tennis player Naomi Osaka also announced she would not
   play her Thursday semifinal match at the Western & Southern Open, and
   officials later postponed all tournament play for Thursday.
   The Milwaukee Bucks' action came in direct response to the police
   shooting of Blake in the city of Kenosha, about 60 kilometers away, as
   well as ongoing frustrations about the history of police brutality and
   racial inequality in the United States.
   "The past four months we've witnessed multiple injustices regarding the
   African American community," the players said in a statement. "Citizens
   around the country have used their voices and platforms to speak out
   against these wrongdoings. Over the last few days in our home state of
   Wisconsin, we've seen the horrendous video of Jacob Blake being shot in
   the back seven times by a police officer in Kenosha, and the additional
   shooting of protesters. Despite the overwhelming plea for change, there
   has been no action, so our focus today cannot be on basketball."

References

   1. https://t.co/AS7wP9qz2x
   2. https://twitter.com/packers/status/1268539283591356416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
   3. https://t.co/SZlH4eQDvb
   4. https://twitter.com/Colts/status/1298971168708460546?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

.