The NBA boycotts feel like a 'huge cultural inflection point,' analysts say


The Milwaukee Bucks' decision to boycott their NBA playoff game Wednesday in response to the police shooting of Jacob Blake is already reverberating.
For starters, the other two NBA games scheduled for Wednesday between the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder and the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers have been postponed, and it seems possible Thursday's slate of games will be canceled in protest, as well.
The action has also reached Major League Baseball. The Milwaukee Brewers, who, like the Bucks, represent Blake's home state, held a team meeting Wednesday, which resulted in the call to follow the Bucks' lead and boycott their Wednesday evening game against the Cincinnati Reds. Other MLB teams are reportedly considering the same.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Analysts don't believe the movement will be confined to the sports universe, however, and instead could prove to be a "huge cultural inflection point."
Athletes have been at the center of political and social justice movements in the United States (and elsewhere) for decades — Jesse Owens running at the 1936 Olympics held in Nazi Germany, Jackie Robinson breaking baseball's color barrier, Muhammad Ali's draft defiance, John Carlos and Tommie Smith's Black Power Salute at the 1968 Olympics, and, more recently, Colin Kaepernick kneeling before the flag are all examples — and the current boycotts seem primed to join that list, particularly because of their scale. Tim O'Donnell
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Book reviews: 'America, América: A New History of the New World' and 'Sister, Sinner: The Miraculous Life and Mysterious Disappearance of Aimee Semple McPherson'
Feature A historian tells a new story of the Americas and the forgotten story of a pioneering preacher
-
Another messaging app used by the White House is in hot water
The Explainer TeleMessage was seen being used by former National Security Adviser Mike Waltz
-
AI hallucinations are getting worse
In the Spotlight And no one knows why it is happening
-
Canada beats US in charged 4 Nations hockey final
Speed Read 'You can't take our country — and you can't take our game,' Prime Minister Justin Trudeau posted after the game
-
Eagles trounce Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX
speed read The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22
-
Indian teen is youngest world chess champion
Speed Read Gukesh Dommaraju, 18, unseated China's Ding Liren
-
Europe roiled by attacks on Israeli soccer fans
Speed Read Israeli fans supporting the Maccabi Tel Aviv team clashed with pro-Palestinian protesters in 'antisemitic attacks,' Dutch authorities said
-
New York wins WNBA title, nearly nabs World Series
Speed Read The Yankees with face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the upcoming Fall Classic
-
LeBron, Bronny James make dad-son NBA debut
Speed Read Basketball star LeBron James and his son LeBron Jr. made history by playing together in the Lakers' preseason game
-
The economics of taxpayer-subsidized stadiums
In Depth Shiny new stadiums can end up costing taxpayers billions
-
Caitlin Clark the No. 1 pick in bullish WNBA Draft
Speed Read As expected, she went to the Indiana Fever