Prior to Wednesday's tipoff, which was scheduled just after 4 p.m. ET, the Bucks did not come out to the court to warm up
The Milwaukee Bucks have decided to sit out Game 5 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the Orlando Magic, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
The team's decision comes as a response to the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man who was shot by police multiple times in the back Sunday in Kenosha, Wisc.
Prior to Wednesday's tipoff, which was scheduled just after 4 p.m. ET, the Bucks did not come out to the court to warm up. According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, top NBA executives went outside Milwaukee's locker room around 4 p.m. ET.
At around the time of the game's initially scheduled start, the Magic returned to their locker room. According to The Athletic's Joe Vardon and Shams Charania, the Magic are waiting to hear officially from the league as to what will happen.
The Blake police shooting appears to have strongly impacted countless players and coaches in the Orlando bubble.
Bucks guard George Hill told The Undefeated's Marc Spears that the team is not playing in light of the Blake shooting. “We’re tired of the killings and the injustice," Hill said.
Hill said Monday he regretted coming to the NBA bubble amid all that is going on in society. “We can’t do anything [from Orlando],” Hill said. “First of all, we shouldn’t have even came to this damn place, to be honest. I think coming here just took all the focal points off what the issues are.”
The Bucks said in a statement Monday that, "We stand firmly against reoccurring issues of excessive use of force and immediate escalation when engaging the black community.
"Our organization will continue to stand for all black lives as we demand accountability and systemic change on behalf of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Sylville Smith, Ernest Lacy, Dontre Hamilton, Tony Robinson, Joel Acevedo and countless other victims. We will work to enact policy change so these incidents no longer exist."
The officers involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave, according to the Wisconsin DOJ's statement.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice is investigating the incident, which occurred Sunday evening. As of Wednesday afternoon, Blake was conscious but partially paralyzed from a bullet that severed his spinal cord.
The shooting Sunday comes weeks removed from countless large-scale protests against racism and police violence across the United States, which were largely prompted by the killing of George Floyd. Floyd, 46, was killed in late May after being violently apprehended by Minneapolis police. He was unarmed.
"What stands out to me is just watching the Republican convention and viewing this fear, right?" Clippers head coach Doc Rivers said after his team's victory Tuesday night over the Mavericks. "All you hear is Donald Trump and all of them talking about fear. We're the ones getting killed. We're the ones getting shot. We’re the ones that are denied to live in certain communities. We’ve been hung, we’ve been shot. All you do is keep hearing about fear. It’s amazing to me why we keep loving this country and this country does not love us back.
"The training has to change in the police force. The unions have to be taken down in the police force. My dad was a cop. I believe in good cops. We’re not trying to defund the police and take all their money away. We’re trying to get them to protect us, just like they protect everybody else.
"It’s really so sad. I should just be a coach and it’s so haunting—reminded of my color. It’s just really sad. We’ve got to do better. We’ve got to demand better."
Added Raptors forward Pascal Siakam: “We came here for a reason, to use our platform and wanting to send a message and hopefully bring awareness and make a change. But if feels like we’re stuck. We’re not doing anything productive … these things hurt. I don’t care where you’re from.”
The Raptors and Celtics discussed sitting out Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals in a players-only meeting between the two teams on Tuesday night. Game 1 is scheduled for Thursday.
According to Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix, the Celtics and Raptors both remain deep in possible discussions about sitting out.
Prior to the NBA's return to action, countless players from around the league were concerned that the league's return was going to overshadow the on-going social justice movement around the United States.
The Bucks entered Thursday's game with a 3-1 series lead over the Magic.