Toronto Raptors’ players Fred VanVleet and Norman Powell spoke out on Tuesday, Aug. 25 about the shooting of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man shot by police seven times, which his father says has left him paralyzed.
VanVleet and Powell said there had been discussions of a possible boycott of Game 1 of their second round series against the Boston Celtics on Aug. 27, saying that despite coming to play in the NBA playoffs “nothing’s really changing” in terms of race relations.
“We’re the ones with the microphones in our face, we’re the ones who have to make a stand,” VanVleet told reporters. “The responsibility falls on us to make a change to stop being oppressed. At what point do we not have to speak about it anymore?”
Head Coach Nick Nurse also spoke about the boycott on Wednesday, just hours before the Milwaukee Bucks and Oklahoma City Thunder were among several teams who chose to boycott their respective Game 5 games that evening. Nurse said various ideas have been discussed as ways to protest systemic racism and police brutality.
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