On Aug. 23, police shot Jacob Blake seven times in the back, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. Three days later, the Milwaukee Bucks declined to take the court against the Orlando Magic, and the NBA playoffs came to a halt. Games in the WNBA, Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer and the National Hockey League were postponed. Tennis star Naomi Osaka announced she would not play her semifinal match in the Western & Southern Open; soon, the tournament went on temporary hiatus.
The message was clear: sports are no longer some pleasurable distraction in tough times. It’s no longer acceptable to use Black Americans as entertainment but do little to demonstrate that their lives matter.
Though the strikes were short-lived–the NBA playoffs resumed a few days later–they showed what athletes can accomplish through collective action. The basketball players returned only after their bosses pledged to work with officials to turn arenas into voting locations for the general election.
“I respect the hell out of them for doing that,” says John Carlos, the American sprinter who famously raised his fist along with Tommie Smith on t…