Seattle Mariners explain why they sat out Wednesday’s game

The Mariners took to Twitter to explain sitting out for Wednesday night’s game.

After an unarmed Black man was shot in the back seven times by a police officer in Wisconsin, the waves of protests in America have now seeped over into the realm of North American sports. The Seattle Mariners joined the list of MLB teams who chose to sit out on Wednesday.

Early Wednesday afternoon, the Milwaukee Bucks decided not to take the court for their playoff game against the Orlando Magic, a move that was done in solidarity with the people of Wisconsin, who are protesting the shooting of Jacob Blake. Very shortly after that, the NBA announced that all games scheduled for Aug. 26 would be postponed due to the player solidarity strikes.

In MLB, the Milwaukee Brewers decided to stand in solidarity with the Bucks and chose not to play their game against the Cincinnati Reds. By later that afternoon, it seemed as though the protests wouldn’t affect any other games in the Major Leagues. However, As ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported, the Seattle Mariners were also discussing the possibility of not playing their game against the San Diego Padres on Wednesday night.

Seattle Mariner’s players make it clear, ‘enough is enough.’

As the day went on, it became clear that the Mariners were not going to play. Shortly before they were supposed to take the field for pre-game warmups, the team announced via its official Twitter account that Seattle players had decided to sit out Wednesday’s game.

Mariners shortstop Dee Gordon took to Twitter shortly after the announcement was made, stating the reason he chose not to play was due to the deeply personal matters of “injustices, violence, death and systemic racism.”

As Jeff Passan notes in his tweet, the Mariners have the most Black players of any team in MLB. However, it should be shortsighted to state that this is the only reason why the Mariners chose not to take the field on Wednesday night, especially since numerous other teams — including the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants — joined in Wednesday’s solidarity strikes.

Numerous non-Black players on the Mariners also made statements via social media, expressing their solidarity towards the Jacob Blake protests.

Mariner’s center fielder Braden Bishop, made a statement on Twitter proclaiming that “this is bigger than any sport.” Bishop’s statement makes it clear that this was a choice made by the entire team.

It is not clear where the Seattle Mariners will go from here. NBA players are currently discussing the next course of action for their season, while the WNBA and MLS joined in Wednesday’s strikes.

Whether or not the Mariners, Brewers and other MLB teams will sit out of future games remains unclear. It seems as though this is just the crest of a wave that will continue to pound the foundation of North American sports, as players attempt to navigate ongoing social issues within the United States.