By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
The shooting of civilian Jacob Blake by police in Wisconsin earlier this week was reportedly discussed at the Toronto Raptors‘ team meeting before Tuesday’s practice inside the NBA’s bubble to discuss possible responses, and as ESPN reports, boycotting Game 1 vs. the Boston Celtics in the second round playoff series was put on the table.
“We knew coming here or not coming here was not going to stop anything, but I think ultimately playing or not playing puts pressure on somebody,” Raptors‘ Fred VanVleet said to the media. “So, for example, this happened in Kenosha, Wisconsin, if I’m correct? Would it be nice if, in a perfect world, we all say we’re not playing, and the owner of the Milwaukee Bucks — that’s going to trickle down. If he steps up to the plate and puts pressure on the district attorney’s office, and state’s attorney, and governors, and politicians there to make real change and get some justice.
“I know it’s not that simple. But, at the end of the day if we’re gonna sit here and talk about making a change then at some point we’re gonna have to put our nuts on the line and actually put something up to lose, rather than just money or visibility. I’m just over the media aspect of it, it’s sensationalized, we talk about it every day, that’s all we see, but it just feels like a big pacifier to me.”
“We’re dealing with it in real-time and I think it affects everybody differently. It’s pretty fresh on my mind and I’m sitting in front of a camera, so I’m just speaking as I’m going. But, yeah, there’s a lot of different things that we’ve discussed.”