The Whiteboard: What happens in the NBA now?

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On Tuesday night, the Milwaukee Bucks made the unprecedented decision to stay in the locker room and refuse to play their scheduled playoff game against the Orlando Magic. What was first called a boycott became a solidarity strike as the Magic joined them and then the Thunder, Rockets, Lakers and Trail Blazers, who had games scheduled later that evening. The Atlanta Dream and Washington Mystics decided not to play their game either, posing together on the court in white t-shirts with bullet holes drawn on the back. Things quickly spread beyond basketball with multiple MLB and MLS teams opting not to play their games.

Official releases from leagues referred to “postponements” but the players are the ones who made this decision and, as of right now, it’s not clear when NBA games might resume as scheduled. This protest action was sparked by the police shooting of Jacob Blake, the killing of two people by a far-right counterprotester in Kenosha, and by all the other victims of more than two centuries of racial violence and oppression in this country. These athletes are crying out for action and change and frankly, there is no more important story in the world of sports right now.

The NBA Board of Governors is meeting this morning and players in the NBA bubble will be meeting at the same time to discuss their own options. The Lakers and Clippers have already reportedly voted to abandon the rest of the season. By this afternoon there should either be news about the strikes pushing further or concrete actions being taken to address the player’s concerns. Either way, we’ll be covering the news but this is our sole focus for today.

You may disagree with the players or the decisions to strike but I’d encourage you to visit the Silence is not an Option feature at The Player’s Tribune and really hear about what they’re asking for and why. It’s a collection of athlete stories, told in their own words, about the personal consequences of injustice, systemic racism and racial violence. If you visit any of our social media channels today, you won’t see our words — we will focus instead on sharing the words and stories of the athletes for whom this is not an abstraction but a visceral daily reality.

We recognize that this is a drop in the ocean but even silly basketball blogs can have a role to play in making their small corners of the world a better place.