Eight MLB Teams On Strike Tonight In Protest Of Yet Another Murder By Police

The New York Post's back page says "ENOUGH!", but the newspaper's reporting has often been racist,
nearly always supporting police who are quick to kill and vilifying the victims.

Four major league games are not being played today as players on eight teams have gone on strike in protest of the police shooting of Jacob Blake on Sunday night. Blake, 29, was shot seven times, all of them in the back, and is now paralyzed from the waist down.

As people protested the police shooting of Blake, a 17-year-old white supremacist and ardent Trump supporter shot and killed two protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Wednesday night. Kyle Rittenhouse was arrested and charged with first-degree intentional homicide.

About 15 minutes before he began shooting, police officers drove past Rittenhouse (and other armed civilians); the police offered them bottles of water. Video footage shows Rittenhouse carrying his rifle as he walks up to and chats with the officers. As at least 25 shots were fired by several people (including Rittenhouse), police vehicles one block away do not move. Shortly after, Rittenhouse walks with his hands up toward the police, with bystanders telling the officers that Rittenhouse has just shot people. The police do nothing, and drive away.

The most popular cable news network in the US last night defended and celebrated these murders, describing the shooter (who obtained his weapon illegally and drove from his home state of Illinois to commit his crimes) a "law-abiding citizen" who was simply "maintaining order", effectively announcing "open season" on anyone who disagrees with the fascist death cult currently running the country. On the night before the killings, the Republican National Convention featured two speakers who two months earlier had been arrested and charged with pointing guns at, and threatening to kill, a group of people protesting the murder of numerous black men by the police.

Tonight's Red Sox-Blue Jays, Phillies-Nationals, Tigers-Twins and Texas-Athletics games were postponed. In the last two days, 14 of the 30 teams have decided to not play.

Last night, the Milwaukee Bucks refused to take the court for their playoff game against the Orlando Magic. Eventually, all three scheduled playoff games were postponed. Three MLB games were also not played last night: Brewers-Reds, Mariners-Padres, and Dodgers-Giants.

Five individual players (all of them Black) did not play last night: Jason Heyward (Cubs), Matt Kemp (Rockies), Dominic Smith (Mets), Dexter Fowler (Cardinals), and Jack Flaherty (Cardinals). The WNBA postponed all of its games and MLS postponed five of six games.

Flaherty expressed frustration at the silence of MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred and the league officals.

Why is it so hard to do something unified for 1 day ... putting our players in the position to force cancellation of our games isnt right ... WE ARE THE ONLY SPORT PLAYING TODAY LET THAT SINK IN

Brewer pitcher Josh Hader: "[T]his is a time where we need to really not stay quiet and show our power and our voices."

Reds pitcher Amir Garrett: "We stand in solidarity today and I am very proud. We need change, and we need it now."

Giants manager Gabe Kapler:

I don't think it should require athletes needing to boycott playoff games to remind us Black Lives Matter and that police brutality is unacceptable and that systemic racism needs to be eliminated. ... I have the utmost respect for the players who are refusing to be silent about issues that are bigger than sports. Racism and police brutality are issues that we're not going to be silent about, either.

Rockies outfielder Matt Kemp posted a strong statement on Instagram:

Tonight I stand with my fellow professional athletes in protest of the injustices my people continue to suffer. I could not play this game I love so much tonight knowing the hurt and anguish my people continue to feel. In a world where we are the ones who need to remain calm while a trained professional points a gun in our face; a world where the people in uniforms who took an oath to protect us are the same ones killing us; a world where we become hashtags before we even reach our potential; we must stand together, speak out, protest, and be the change we demand, require, and need so bad. To the families who have experienced these tragedies first hand my heart breaks for you, my prayers are with you and I use my platform to speak on your behalf. I will be protesting tonight's game in honor of all of my fallen brothers and sisters at the hands of police brutality. #BLM #JacobBlake #BreonnaTaylor #GeorgeFloyd #Saytheirnames

Mets first baseman Dominic Smith knelt during the national anthem and after the game, he was in tears:

For this to continuously happen, it shows the hate in people's hearts. That just sucks. Being a Black man in America is not easy. I wasn't there mentally today.

Dee Gordon of the Mariners (who have 11 Black players on their 40-man roster, the most of any MLB team):

There are serious issues in this country. For me, and for many of my teammates, the injustices, violence, death and systemic racism is deeply personal. This is impacting not only my community, but very directly my family and friends. ... Instead of watching us, we hope people will focus on the things more important than sports that are happening.