The Milwaukee Bucks kicked off a movement on Monday by deciding not to play Game 5 against the Orlando Magic.
Not only did their fellow athletes in the NBA follow suit, but so did players and teams across other leagues. Players from the WNBA, MLB and MLS all decided not to play in games to protest the shooting of Jacob Blake and demand more be done to bring justice and equality to Black people in America.
But it wasn’t just athletes who felt compelled to jump in on the action. Apparently, the NBA’s employees did, too.
As a stand in solidarity with the NBA’s and WNBA’s players, nearly 100 NBA employees went on strike on Friday at the league’s office, ESPN’s Malika Andrews reports.
Instead, they’re calling their local officials to demand justice.
Sources: Roughly 100 NBA employees — based in New York — are on strike today, in solidarity with the NBA and WNBA players pushing for social justice. They will be spending the day calling elected officials.
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) August 28, 2020
They also wrote a letter to Adam Silver and the NBA as part of their strike, Andrews reports. It acknowledged the work the NBA has already done, but made clear that they believe the league can have a bigger impact.
“We acknowledge and credit all the work the NBA has already done. But we have the power to have a greater impact. The NBA has not done enough proactively, and rather has relied too heavily on our players… We understand that we are a business, but fears of losing revenue and advertisers should not numb us to the cries of Black men, women and children that continue to be oppressed in the same communities in which we play.”
The message has been received loud and clear from the NBA’s labor force. The NBA has done a lot of good, but the players and even the league’s staff don’t believe it’s done enough.
They believe the NBA and its owners can do more and, it seems, they’re willing to withhold their labor to push them into action. The ball is in the league’s court now.
