MLB teams join with NBA players, boycott games to protest Jacob Blake shooting

Tom Gatto

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MLB teams join with NBA players, boycott games to protest Jacob Blake shooting image

Three MLB games were postponed Wednesday after players chose to show solidarity with NBA players who skipped playoff games to protest the police shooting this week of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wis.

The Brewers and Reds were the first to act; they voted not to the play their game in Milwaukee on Wednesday evening. They were followed by the Mariners and Padres, who boycotted their game in San Diego, and the Dodgers and Giants, who did the same in San Francisco.

The players made their decisions after all six NBA teams scheduled to play Wednesday, led by the Bucks, chose not to compete in playoff games to make a statement about the Blake shooting.

MORE: NBA players react to Bucks' initial boycott

Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun said the Brewers felt that they could make an impact by not playing.

Milwaukee relief pitcher Josh Hader told reporters in a pregame Zoom call that a boycott would be a topic of discussion after the players watched the Bucks, Magic, Thunder, Rockets, Lakers and Trail Blazers refuse to play. The NBA later announced the games were postponed and would be rescheduled.

"It's not about sports," Hader said. "This is a time where we need to really not stay quiet."

A handful of Brewers players, led by union representative Brent Suter, met with Reds players around the batting cage after their meeting. 

MLB issued a statement Wednesday night supporting the players. "Major League Baseball remains united for change in our society and we will be allies in the fight to end racism and injustice," it wrote.

It later announced that the three postponed games will be made up as part of doubleheaders Thursday.

ESPN's Jeff Passan reported Wednesday on the possibility that the Mariners may sit out their game. The Mariners have the most Black players in the major leagues, Passan wrote. Seattle has been a site for protests, peaceful and violent, the past three months following the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis.

Black players involved in other games chose to sit out Wednesday's action in solidarity.

Cubs outfielder Jason Heyward took himself out of the lineup after a conversation with manager David Ross, according to multiple media reports.

Later reports said Heyward encouraged his teammates to play.

Heyward told reporters after that the game he needed to "do what I have to do" and also felt the game should be played. 

Cardinals players Dexter Fowler and Jack Flaherty and the Rockies' Matt Kemp likewise chose to sit out their games.

Kenosha police officer Rusten Sheskey shot Blake, who is Black, seven times in the back Sunday as Blake attempted to enter his vehicle, the Wisconsin Department of Justice announced Wednesday night. Police were trying to arrest Blake after being called to a residence to investigate a woman's claim that her boyfriend was present but was not supposed to be on the property.

Police scuffled with, and used a Taser on, Blake before shooting him, the Wisconsin DOJ said. Blake told police "following the initial incident," in the DOJ's words, that he had a knife in the vehicle. The Wisconsin DOJ said police recovered the knife from the driver's side floorboards.

Kenosha police do not have bodycams, the Wisconsin DOJ said, but the shooting was recorded and posted online.

It was later learned that Blake was wanted on sexual assault and domestic violence charges. Prosecutors in Kenosha County charged Blake last month with third-degree sexual assault, trespassing and disorderly conduct in connection with domestic abuse. An arrest warrant was issued July 7, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Hader's statements are likely to evoke strong reactions from outside the clubhouse as well: Just two years ago, racist tweets Hader posted as a teenager were recirculated by someone online while Hader was pitching in MLB's All-Star Game.

Hader apologized for his posts.

"I was young, immature and stupid," he told reporters, per MLB.com. "There's no excuses for what was said."

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.