The San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers jointly agreed to join NBA and fellow MLB teams on Wednesday night by boycotting their game.
Hours after the Milwaukee Bucks sparked a multi-league protest by boycotting Game 5 of their NBA Playoff series, Wednesday’s Giants-Dodgers contest became the latest to be postponed by player protests.
Giants-Dodgers game postponed due to player protests
San Francisco and Los Angeles were set to begin the second game of their three-game series on Wednesday night when word of the Brewers’ unprecedented protest first broke. A short time later, the Milwaukee Brewers became the first MLB team to boycott their upcoming contest.
With Wednesday’s entire NBA Playoff slate postponed, the focus shifted towards how MLB teams would respond to the historic moment in sports.
Shortly after the Brewers-Reds game was postponed, the Seattle Mariners opted not to play against the San Diego Padres. In both cases, the Padres and Reds agreed to take part in sitting out and wouldn’t accept a forfeit.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Giants and Dodgers mutually agreed to postpone their game and join others in a peaceful demonstration by sitting out.
Before making the decision, Giants manager Gabe Kapler spoke about the importance of acknowledging racism and police brutality in the United States. He was the first manager to take part in peacefully protesting during the national anthem, kneeling with several of the team’s players.
Both teams took the field earlier in the evening to stretch, before they headed back into the dugout to discuss whether they would play. A short time later, clubhouse attendants started removing gear from the dugout.
The boycotts come days after police officers in Wisconsin shot Jacob Blake seven times in the back, with the horrifying video spreading on social media. It reignited the heightened anger and outrage across the United States, at a time when millions across the country have protested against police brutality and systemic inequality in the US.
After years of MLB largely staying relatively quiet when it comes to social justice issues, the league is clearly shifting its tone and providing players with more support to speak out.