WNBA Players Jacob Blake Protest
(Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
The announcement follows a statement made on behalf of Dream player Elizabeth Williams who declared the entire league would not be playing any games on Wednesday night.
On Thursday afternoon, the WNBA announced the games scheduled for today are postponed.
The teams that were set to play included the Chicago Sky vs. Indiana Fever, Dallas Wings vs. New York Liberty, and the Las Vegas Aces vs. Seattle Storm. The league also shared information regarding rescheduling would be provided when available.
Take a look at the official statement below.
On Wednesday night, numerous WNBA players led a protest as a reaction the recent police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
To their game against the Atlanta Dream, the Washington Mystics wore white T-shirts emblazoned with letters spelling out Blake’s name. Bullet holes were painted on the back of the shirts. Following the incident, Blake was left partially paralyzed from the waist down, according to his family’s latest update.
This wasn’t the only statement made yesterday evening. According to Yahoo, the Minnessota Lynx, the Connecticut Sun, the Phoenix Mercury and the Los Angeles Sparks fell to their knees and linked arms as the national anthem was played before they walked off the court.
(Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
In a statement, Mystics player Ariel Atkins touched on why the protest was led by the players. “When most of us go home, we still are Black.” She added, “We’re not just basketball players and, if you think we are, then don’t watch us, you’re watching the wrong sport, because we’re so much more than that.” The statement also expressed the current moments the country is experiencing are bigger than sports. She ended her statement with the following words: “We matter, I’m tired of telling people that.”
Next came a statement from Dream player Elizabeth Williams who shared that the night’s games would not be happening. She stated that the WNBA was standing in solidarity with the NBA players who had announced they would not be participating in playoff games in Orlando. Williams shared, “We stand in solidarity with our brothers in the NBA and will continue this conversation with our brothers and sisters across all leagues and look to take collective action.”
About 30 minutes after Williams released her statement, the WNBA announced Wednesday night's games were postponed. The statement also acknowledged rescheduling of the games was set to be provided "when available." On Thursday, the NBA announced they'd be resuming playoff games.
This story was originally published on August 27, it was updated the same day.
