Players of the WNBA’s Washington Mystics each wore a white T-shirt printed with seven bullet holes on the back in honor of Jacob Blake, who was shot seven times in the back by police in Wisconsin.
Multiple WNBA teams postponed games scheduled for Wednesday night in solidarity with protests across the country in response to police brutality against the Black community and Blake’s shooting.
The NBA also postponed all three playoff games scheduled for last night.
The Washington Mystics made a strong statement on the basketball court to honor Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man who was shot seven times in the back by a police officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Sunday.
Last night, players from the WNBA team wore coordinating white T-shirts that spelled out Blake’s name on the front side and were each designed with seven bullet holes on the back side to represent Blake’s injuries. Blake survived but is now paralyzed by the shooting, which breathed new life into protests for racial justice across the country, including Kenosha, where two protesters were killed.
In solidarity, the WNBA canceled all three of its games scheduled for Wednesday night. Members of the Mystics, Atlanta Dream, Minnesota Lynx, and Los Angeles Sparks took a knee together on the court where they were slated to play in the WNBA bubble in Bradenton, Florida. Games for the Connecticut Sun and Phoenix Mercury were also canceled.
The Mystics’ Ariel Atkins spoke on the behalf of the team last night. “We wanted everybody to feel like they were supported,” she said of the decision to postpone the games. “Understanding that this isn’t just about basketball. We aren’t just basketball players and just because we are basketball players, doesn’t mean that’s our only platform. We need to understand that when most of us go home, we still are Black, in the sense that our families matter.”
Gesturing to a child beside her, she continued, “We got this little guy right here. … His life matters. He needs to know that he can do what he wants to do whenever he leaves his house. When he grows up. Within reason, you don’t need to go out there crazy, but he matters. And that’s what people need to understand. We’re not just basketball players, and if you think we are, then don’t watch us. You’re watching the wrong sport, because we’re so much more than that. We’re gonna say what we need to say. And people need to hear that. And if they don’t support that, I’m fine with that.”
The WNBA announcement came shortly after the NBA canceled all three of its playoff games also scheduled for last night. The movement began with Wisconsin’s own Milwaukee Bucks, who abstained from taking the floor for their playoff game against the Orlando Magic.
“We need to understand that these moments are so much more bigger than us, and I really appreciate my team, for not only having my back, but for saying what they feel,” Atkins added. “It’s hard to say that type of stuff in these moments. It’s hard to be vulnerable in these moments. But I think if we do this unified as a league, it looks different. Because this league is close to, if not over, 80 percent Black women.
“We have cousins, we have brothers, we have sisters, mothers, everyone—we matter. And I think that’s important. I think people should know that. And I’m tired of telling people that. I know I matter. We know we matter. I’m tired of telling people that. If you don’t know that, if you don’t think that, then you need to recheck it. If you have a problem with us saying ‘Black lives matter,’ you need to check your privilege.”