2020 American athlete strikes facts for kids

On August 26, 2020, many professional athletes in the United States decided to stop playing their sports. They did this to protest the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. A video of Blake's shooting, where he was badly hurt, became very popular online. This led to protests in Kenosha and other cities.

Because of the shooting and the protests, athletes refused to play their games on August 26. The first team to do this was the Milwaukee Bucks from the National Basketball Association (NBA). Athletes in the NBA, Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), Major League Baseball (MLB), and Major League Soccer (MLS) all stopped playing that day. The Women's Tennis Association also postponed its Cincinnati Masters tournament for one day. The protests continued on August 27 and 28, with players from the National Hockey League (NHL) also stopping their playoff games. Nine National Football League (NFL) teams canceled their practices on August 27. These athlete protests were part of bigger racial justice movements happening in the United States at that time.

Why Athletes Protested

On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, an African-American man, died in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A police officer was arresting him and caused his death. This event led to many protests across the country and around the world. People protested against police brutality (when police use too much force) and racism.

After George Floyd's death, NBA players started wearing T-shirts that said I Can't Breathe during warm-ups. This phrase was first used in 2014 after the police killing of Eric Garner. The NBA allowed players to wear these shirts to show their support for social justice.

Professional Sports Protests

After the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, professional athletes in the United States decided not to play their scheduled games. These protests were part of the larger Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. This movement supports peaceful ways to protest against police brutality and violence against black people because of their race.

The Black Lives Matter logo was shown on NBA courts during the 2020 playoffs. When the NBA season started again in July 2020, NBA players knelt during the national anthem. Each player also wore a "Black Lives Matter" shirt.

National Basketball Association (NBA) Protests

During the 2020 NBA playoffs, players from the Milwaukee Bucks refused to play their game on August 26. This was a first-round playoff game against the Orlando Magic. The Bucks team stayed in their locker room to protest the shooting of Jacob Blake.

At first, it was thought the Bucks would lose the game because they didn't play. However, the Magic team did not accept this. The NBA and the players' union (National Basketball Players Association) then announced that all NBA games for that day were postponed. The Toronto Raptors also considered not playing their playoff series. They were frustrated by the lack of change after the murder of George Floyd and the shooting of Jacob Blake. Later that night, players from the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers voted to cancel the rest of the tournament. But other NBA teams voted to keep playing.

Sean Roberts, a politician from Oklahoma, threatened to remove tax benefits for the Oklahoma City Thunder if their players knelt. But all players and coaches from both the Thunder and the Utah Jazz knelt anyway. The NBA also postponed playoff games scheduled for August 28. The playoffs started again on August 29.

National Football League (NFL) Protests

The Detroit Lions football team canceled their practice on August 25 in response to the Jacob Blake shooting. On August 27, nine NFL teams canceled their practices. Nineteen other NFL teams still had their practices. Several teams that did not cancel practice released statements about coming together. The Jacksonville Jaguars also canceled their afternoon activities.

Major League Baseball (MLB) Protests

On August 26, a game between the Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds was stopped by players protesting. Later that day, games between the Seattle Mariners and San Diego Padres, and the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants were postponed.

On August 27, seven MLB games were postponed because players protested. At the New York Mets' stadium, Citi Field, a Black Lives Matter shirt was placed on home plate. On August 28, which was Jackie Robinson Day across MLB, the game between the Houston Astros and Oakland Athletics was postponed. Both teams walked off the field to protest.

National Hockey League (NHL) Protests

Players in the National Hockey League (NHL) postponed their games scheduled for August 27 and 28. These games were part of the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Major League Soccer (MLS) Protests

On August 26, Major League Soccer players stopped playing in several games to highlight racial injustice. The league ended up canceling five out of six games scheduled for that day.

Other Soccer Leagues Protest

• Memphis 901 FC did not travel for a game on August 29. Instead, the players joined protests in Memphis.
• Forward Madison FC postponed a game scheduled for August 30.
• On August 27, the New York Cosmos and Detroit City FC announced their game on August 29 would be postponed so both teams could protest.
• The next day, New Amsterdam FC and California United Strikers FC also announced they would not travel for their games on August 30.

Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) Protests

All six games scheduled for August 26 and 27 were postponed.

Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Protests

On August 26, Naomi Osaka, a tennis player from the Women's Tennis Association, announced she would not play in the Cincinnati Masters semifinals. She did this as part of the protest after the Jacob Blake shooting. The tournament organizers decided to move matches scheduled for August 27 to the next day. Because of this, Osaka agreed to play her semifinal match, which she won.

College Athlete Protests

Following the lead of professional athletes, several college football teams also protested. Teams like Texas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Kentucky, South Florida, Boston College, Western Kentucky, Appalachian State, Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Baylor either canceled practice or stopped playing on August 27 and 28.

Reactions to the Protests

On August 27, Marc Short, a top aide to Vice President Mike Pence, said that the government didn't "care" if the NBA players protested. He was talking about their walkout for social justice.

Also on August 27, Brian Urlacher, a retired football player, posted on Instagram. He criticized NBA players for stopping their games because of the Jacob Blake shooting. He also wrote "Patriot Lives Matter." This post received a lot of criticism. The Chicago Bears football team, Urlacher's former team, said that his post "in no way reflect the values or opinions of the Chicago Bears organization."

What to Call the Protests

There has been some discussion about whether to call the athletes' actions a "strike" or a "boycott." When The New York Times called it a "boycott," politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said on Twitter that "strike" was the correct word. However, basketball star LeBron James used the word "boycott." The National Basketball Players Association called it a "postponement."

Different news sources used different words:

• NPR called it a "strike."
• Vanity Fair used "strikes."
• NBC News used "walkout."
• The Anchorage Daily News used "walkout."
• Sporting News used "boycott."
• Mother Jones used "Wildcat Strike."