Rumors

The video of police in Kenosha, Wis. shooting and wounding Blake emerged during the NBA’s 2020 postseason while players were isolated at Walt Disney World in a COVID-19 “bubble.” The surreal August playoffs were taking place after the season had shut down in March because of the pandemic. “It was weighing heavy on a lot of guys,” says Chris Paul, who was the president of the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) for eight years before he stepped aside this summer. Paul told TIME in an interview this week that when George Floyd was murdered on May 25, 2020, he was home and could explain to his children Chris II and Camryn, then 11 and 8, what was unfolding on television. “Whereas when this situation happened, with Jacob Blake, we were all in the bubble,” says the Phoenix Suns point guard. “We didn’t get the chance to be with our families, to talk to them or to hug them, that physical aspect.”

TIME

As an aside, I’m not going to try to guess as to why Irving left the club prior to their Jan. 7 game against the Sixers. Various reports have stated that he was upset over the riots at the Capitol Building on Jan. 6. However, those familiar with Irving’s thinking said that the news that the Kenosha police officer who shot Jacob Blake won’t be facing any criminal charges factored into his absence. That event, more so than the riots at the Capitol Building, contributed to Irving being away from the club, those people say.

SportsNet New York

Kelly Iko: “We got work to do. We still got work to do.” — Sterling Brown on this week’s ruling in Kenosha following the shooting of Jacob Blake

Twitter

Milwaukee is an hour’s drive from Kenosha, where prosecutors deemed the actions of local police in the Blake incident an appropriate use of force. “It’s in our backyard,” said Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer. Milwaukee players, who launched the brief wildcat strike in the bubble after the Blake shooting, decided something needed to be done. They could kneel for the anthem, though networks might not show it. According to Brook Lopez, Pat Connaughton suggested something more visible: kneeling after tip-off for seven seconds—one for every bullet Blake was shot with. “As a team, we’re going to use our platform the right way,” said Giannis Antetokounmpo. “My kid is going to grow up here in America, and my kid is Black. I cannot imagine my kid going through what I see on TV. While I’m living and while I’m breathing, if I can do something about it to even change it 2%, 5%, for the better, I’m going to do it.”

Sports Illustrated

NBA superstar LeBron James called the decision not to bring charges in the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin "a blow to the heart" on Tuesday. "To hear what happened in Kenosha today was a blow to the heart and to the gut," James said after the Lakers' win over the Grizzlies in Memphis.

Yahoo! Sports

Malika Andrews: After the Kenosha, WI County DA’s decision not to bring charges against the officer who shot Jacob Blake, the Milwaukee Bucks issue this statement: “The Bucks organization remains firmly against excessive use of force ...” It doesn’t mention Blake or Kenosha specifically.

Twitter

He wouldn’t be playing in Game 5 out of protest over the Aug. 23 shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, by a white police officer in front of his three young boys. Hill’s frustration had boiled over that morning after seeing video of 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse, who is white, using an AR-15-style rifle to kill two people and severely wound a third at a protest in Kenosha a night earlier without being arrested.

The Undefeated

Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell announced he is donating $45,000 raised from sales of his latest shoe release to help fund the education of the children of Jacob Blake, a Black man who was shot earlier this week by police in Kenosha, Wis. Mitchell made the announcement in a video posted to Instagram on Friday, revealing that Adidas would match his donation, bringing the total funds donated to Blake's children to $90,000.

The Hill

For hours on Wednesday, players demanded action. But what? And from whom? The Bucks got a spotty cell phone call from Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul. They wanted information on how Kaul would proceed with prosecution of the officer who shot Jacob Blake, the 29-year-old black man who was shot seven times by a Kenosha, Wis., police officer on Sunday. Kaul proceeded to politically weaponize the conversation, blaming a pair of state legislators for not doing enough. Players spoke of the need to do more for voting rights and police reform, though to several people in the room it was unclear how.

Sports Illustrated

Marc J. Spears: Bucks guard George Hill says to @TheUndefeated his team is not playing against Orlando tonight in light of shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisc. “We’re tired of the killings and the injustice,” Hill to @TheUndefeated.

Twitter

That Blake, shot seven times by the Kenosha police, will apparently survive is a miracle; that he is reportedly paralyzed from the waist down is the latest successful assault on a Black body by authorities empowered to use deadly force at any whim. “When you think about the Black population in the state of Wisconsin, it pretty much resides in Racine, Kenosha and Milwaukee,” said former NBA star Caron Butler, a Racine native. “However, Racine and Kenosha is like two of the most segregated places on the damn planet. Like Down South-type segregation.”

The Athletic

"So, for example, this happened in Kenosha, Wisconsin, if I'm correct? Would it be nice if, in a perfect world, we all say we're not playing, and the owner of the Milwaukee Bucks -- that's going to trickle down. If he steps up to the plate and puts pressure on the district attorney's office, and state's attorney, and governors, and politicians there to make real change and get some justice. "I know it's not that simple. But, at the end of the day, if we're gonna sit here and talk about making change, then at some point we're gonna have to put our nuts on the line and actually put something up to lose, rather than just money or visibility. I'm just over the media aspect of it. It's sensationalized, we talk about it everyday, that's all we see, but it just feels like a big pacifier to me."

ESPN

Eric Koreen: VanVleet on Blake/Kenosha: “It’s just starting to feel like everything’s going through the motions and nothing’s really changing.”

Twitter

Jeff Zillgitt: Talking about what the police shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin and what players can do, Bucks guard George Hill said, "We can't do anything. First all, we shouldn't have came to this damn place to be honest."

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