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Obama praises NBA players for ‘boycotting’ playoff games over Jacob Blake’s shooting: 'Stand up for our values'

Blake was shot several times by police on Sunday, August 23, as he tried to enter his car

Barack Obama has some appreciating words for the NBA players who “boycott” their playoff game on Wednesday, August 26, to protest the Kenosha police shooting that saw a Black man, named Jacob Blake, getting shot at least seven times. "I commend the players on the @Bucks for standing up for what they believe in, coaches like @DocRivers, and the @NBA and @WNBA for setting an example. It’s going to take all our institutions to stand up for our values,” the former US president tweeted.

Blake was shot several times on Sunday, August 23, as he tried to enter a car. He was hit by the bullets in the back while his three children were inside the vehicle. After the fatal shooting, he was rushed to Froedtert Hospital, Milwaukee, where he is stable.

However, the 29-year-old’s family has shared that he will need a "miracle" to walk again. His family and lawyers have added that one of the bullets hit his spinal cord resulting in a partial or complete severing. “His family believes in miracles, but the medical diagnosis right now is that he is paralyzed and, because those bullets severed his spinal cord and shattered some of his vertebrae, it is going to take a miracle for Jacob Blake Jr to ever walk again,"  Ben Crump, the lawyer representing Blake, said.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice said on Wednesday, August 26, that Blake was in possession of a knife at the time of the shooting. The weapon was on the driver's side floorboard in his car. However, it has not been immediately clarified if the responding officers knew about this.

The Sunday shooting happened just months after another Black man, George Floyd, was killed in May. In response to the latest incident, a number of people have come out on streets to protest against police brutality as they set ablaze several vehicles, smashed windows, and gathered outside the Kenosha Police Department building demanding justice for Blake. 

Protestors have also been joined by NBA players but in silent form. The first team that decided to refuse to play was Milwaukee Bucks. In a statement, the team said that they are “calling for justice for Jacob Blake and demand the officers be held accountable.” "The past four months have shed a light on the ongoing racial injustices facing our African American communities. Citizens around the country have used their voices and platforms to speak out against these wrongdoings. Despite the overwhelming plea for change, there has been no action, so our focus today cannot be on basketball,” the statement added.

The team’s decision was later followed by other teams also as the NBA tweeted: “The NBA and the NBPA today announced that in light of the Milwaukee Bucks’ decision to not take the floor today for Game 5 against the Orlando Magic, today’s three games – MIL-ORL, HOU-OKC and LAL-POR have been postponed. Game 5 of each series will be rescheduled.”

Other professional sports leagues’ players also showed their solidarity with the Bucks' players. The Milwaukee Brewers and the Seattle Mariners postponed their August 26 game. In a joint statement on Twitter posted by the Brewers, the teams said: “The players from the Brewers and Reds have decided to not play tonight's baseball game. With our community and our nation in such pain, we wanted to draw as much attention to the issues that really matter, especially racial injustice and systematic oppression.”

Besides, San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers also decided not to play and released a statement that read: “Throughout our country’s history, the sport has been a powerful vehicle towards change. The Dodgers and Giants proudly join our players in the shared goal for a more equitable and just society."