Texas Rangers would have backed Oakland A’s had they joined Jacob Blake boycotts
The NBA postponed all of its playoff games Wednesday night after the Milwaukee Bucks and Orlando Magic decided to boycott their game in light of the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and the ensuing violence amid protests.
The Milwaukee Brewers also decided not to play their MLB regular-season game against the Cincinnati Reds, and other teams and players also decided to not play.
The Texas Rangers didn’t know if they would play until less than an hour before first pitch, as Oakland A’s players discussed if they wanted to play to make a statement in support of ending racism and police brutality toward Black Americans.
The A’s are contemplating not playing Thursday in the series finale.
“It was uncomfortable before the game, and you see some other teams not playing, mostly the West Coast other than Milwaukee,” said A’s manager Bob Melvin.
“They were right in the middle of it there. And that decision was probably made way earlier in the day. So, you know, our guys said, ‘Look, we’re gonna play tonight, and tomorrow we’ll discuss it as a group.’”
Rangers manager Chris Woodward said that he spoke with the Rangers’ two Black players, left-hander Taylor Hearn and the injured Willie Calhoun, as well as Black coaches Tony Beasley and Callix Crabbe.
The Rangers decided they would play, but would not object if Oakland chose to not play.
“There were some players on their team who felt like maybe they didn’t want to play tonight,” Woodward said after Wednesday night’s game. “So, we were going to fully support that if they didn’t. We had some individual conversations with some of our guys, and we felt that we were OK playing.”
MLB issued a statement Thursday night, saying it supported the teams’ decision to not play. According to reports, the teams who chose to not play Wednesday are expecting to play Thursday.
The Brewers and Reds will play a doubleheader Thursday. MLB will celebrate Jackie Robinson Day on Friday.
“Given the pain in the communities of Wisconsin and beyond following the shooting of Jacob Blake, we respect the decisions of a number of players not to play tonight,” MLB said in a statement. “Major League Baseball remains united for change in our society and we will be allies in the fight to end racism and injustice.”
This story was originally published August 26, 2020 at 11:31 PM.
