The Bucks organization from top to bottom was in full alignment with the players' decisionNBAE/GETTY IMAGES
The Bucks made the decision not to play yesterday’s game against the Magic without consulting “anyone outside their locker room,” according to Matt Velazquez of the MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL. Players stayed in the locker room “for more than three hours” and were on a “conference call with Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul and Lt. Governor Mandela Barnes.” The goal was to “learn more about the situation and process as well as to discern meaningful steps they could take.” The Bucks then emerged united, with Gs George Hill and Sterling Brown delivering a statement and explaining that the process “had taken such a long time because the team wanted to take time to brainstorm, educate themselves and avoid speaking with raw emotion.” The organization “from top to bottom … was in full alignment with the team's decision.” Bucks co-Owners Marc Lasry, Wes Edens and Jamie Dinan in a statement said, “We fully support our players and the decision they made. Although we did not know beforehand, we would have wholeheartedly agreed with them." Velazquez reports the Bucks’ move to boycott “came a day after the Bucks held a team meeting to discuss the events of the previous couple of days.” The “take-home message from that session was that, to them, nothing was more important than advancing the causes of social justice, racial justice and ending the preponderance of police violence” (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 8/27).
THINGS COMING TO A BOIL: The WALL STREET JOURNAL’s Ben Cohen notes the “remarkable decision from the Bucks, which prompted a unified show of force on social media from some of the NBA’s biggest stars, followed days of renewed conversations among players about whether they should play during a convulsive moment across the country.” NBA players were “visibly distraught and frustrated by feelings of helplessness this week after watching another police shooting in Wisconsin.” However, the Bucks’ actions “blindsided other teams and players around the league” (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 8/27).
SOME FRUSTRATED WITHOUT HEADS UP: THE ATHLETIC’s Charania, Aldridge & Vardon cited sources who said that there was “some frustration” during a meeting with all players last night that the Bucks’ protest “was last minute and not shared ahead of time with the Magic or any other teams.” Hill told the players in the meeting that he “first sparked the idea of a Milwaukee ‘boycott’ -- the players’ word -- and his teammates supported it.” Sources said that Bucks G Kyle Korver “apologized for the Bucks failing to inform the Magic or other teams before launching the protest” (THEATHLETIC.com, 8/26). In Orlando, Mike Bianchi writes it “seems a bit selfish that the Bucks didn’t include the Magic in their plans and left the Magic oblivious out on the court.” Bianchi: “Why the Bucks didn’t inform the Magic or the league of their decision ahead of time is baffling” (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 8/27).
REAL-LIFE EXPERIENCE: In Chicago, Deantae Prince notes the Bucks “spoke from experience,” as they have “been here before and were uniquely qualified to handle the moment.” Brown was approached by Milwaukee police in '18 “with such force that he feared for his life.” Body-cam video of Brown “being tackled, shot with a Taser and subsequently released” later went viral. Brown had vowed to “use his platform to make sure fewer police incidents ended like his did -- and he continues to do that” (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 8/27). Also in Chicago, Mike McGraw writes Brown's experience “was an example of how there's a different set of rules for Black people when dealing with police.” McGraw: “Ask yourself what would happen if you parked illegally at Walgreens? A ticket, maybe?” (Chicago DAILY HERALD, 8/27).
