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"Professional athletes decried a police shooting, postponing games Wednesday and pushing for racial justice.All NBA and WNBA games, three Major League Baseball games and five of six Major League Soccer games were called off Wednesday as athletes demanded change.Jacob Blake was shot multiple times by police about 40 miles south of Milwaukee. The Blake family’s attorney said Blake was paralyzed and that it would “take a miracle” for him to walk again.The shooting of the 29-year-old Blake was captured on cellphone video.Osaka withdraws in protest; Western &amp; Southern put on hold ThursdayFourth-seeded Naomi Osaka reached the semifinals of the Western &amp; Southern Open on Wednesday and withdrew a few hours later in a call for racial justice, drawing quick support from other players. Soon after, the whole tournament was put on hold for a day.“As a sport, tennis is collectively taking a stance against racial inequality and social injustice that once again has been thrust to the forefront in the United States. The USTA, ATP Tour, and WTA have decided to recognize this moment in time by pausing tournament play at the Western &amp; Southern Open on Thursday, Aug. 27,\" the three oganizations said in a statement.Osaka, the Japanese star and last Top 10 seed in the women's bracket, joined professional athletes in basketball, baseball and soccer in demanding change after Blake was shot by police.Osaka tweeted that as a Black woman, she feels compelled to pull out of the tournament to put a focus on police shooting Black people.“I don't expect anything drastic to happen with me not playing, but if I can get a conversation started in a majority white sport I consider that a step in the right direction,” Osaka tweeted. \"Watching the continued genocide of Black people at the hand of the police is honestly making me sick to my stomach.“I'm exhausted of having a new hashtag pop up every few days and I'm extremely tired of having this same conversation over and over again. When will it ever be enough?”Her move quickly got support from others players on the tour.Sloane Stephens retweeted the message and added: “Say it louder! Proud of you” and in a separate tweet added, #Proud of all the sports teams and athletes taking a stand tonight #BLM\"After reaching the semifinals late Wednesday, Milos Raonic said the ATP and WTA should consider a joint action that goes beyond a small group of players.“I think real disruption, that's what makes change, and I think a lot of real disruption is caused by affecting people in a monetary way and can force some kind of change,\" he said. “I'm hoping at least we on the men's tour as well as the women's, we band together and we show support.”WNBA games postponed following shooting of Jacob BlakeThe WNBA postponed games Wednesday night.The move came hours after the NBA decided to postpone its playoff games with its players choosing to boycott in their strongest statement yet against racial injustice.\"We know it’s a very emotional time for our players. They are struggling with what’s been happening in this country for months, if not years,\" said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, who said the league supports its players decision to not play Wednesday night.The WNBA and its players have dedicated this season to social justice. Players have been wearing the name of Breonna Taylor on the back of the uniforms all season long.Teams took a knee at center court right before leaving the court.Atlanta Dream player Elizabeth Williams read a statement on ESPN saying that the “consensus is not to play in tonight’s games.\"“We stand in solidarity with our brothers in the NBA, and will continue this conversation with our brothers and sisters across all leagues and look to take collective action,” said Williams, the secretary of the players' union.The Mystics came into the arena wearing shirts that spelled out Blake’s name on the front and had holes in the back to signify the seven bullets that the 29-year-old black man was hit with by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin.The league had just passed its halfway mark of the 22-game season. With teams playing pretty much every other day in the bubble the postponed games will most likely have to be made up after the regular season ends on Sept. 12.WNBA teams held a roughly 30-minute vigil back at the IMG Academy hotel Wednesday night for Blake. It was led by Nneka Ogwumike and Layshia Clarendon, who are the president and vice president of the players’ union. The vigil was attended by every team, players, coaches, staff and officials.The WNBA and its players have dedicated this season to social justice. Players have been wearing the name of Breonna Taylor on the back of the uniforms all season long.Taylor, a 26-year-old Black emergency medical technician, was shot eight times by plainclothes Louisville police officers serving a narcotics search warrant at her apartment on March 13. No drugs were found. Her family and protesters around the country have called for swift action against the officers who shot Taylor.Over the course of the season players have worn warmup shirts that read “Black Lives Matter” on the front and “Say Her Name” on the back. The phrase “Black Lives Matter” is featured prominently on the courts where the teams play.Five MLS games called off as player protest racial injusticeMajor League Soccer players boycotted five games Wednesday night in a collective statement against racial injustice. Players from games between Atlanta United and Inter Miami, FC Dallas and Colorado, Portland and San Jose, Real Salt Lake and LAFC, and the LA Galaxy and Seattle all decided not to play in solidarity.The lone match played was between Orlando City and Nashville SC.Colorado forward Kei Kamara posted on social media: “We made a decision together as players and staffs to not play our game tonight because there’s more happening in our country to distract our minds to soccer. This is the first time I can agree to the saying `It’s just a game.’”Atlanta United released a statement before its scheduled game against Inter Miami in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The players all gathered on the field before the game, arm in arm.“We stand in solidarity with the Black community, with our players, our city and our fans in the fight against injustice,” the statement said. “We must use our voices to be the change.”The Timbers similarly released a statement that said: “The Portland Timbers stand in support of our players and their decision not to play tonight. Racial injustice and police brutality against black people in our country must end now.”After his team's 3-1 victory over Nashville, Orlando City midfielder Nani said he was not aware until after the game that players had boycotted the other games. Nani was the only Orlando player to kneel for the anthem before the game.“We didn't know. We understand and we respect what's going on and what the other teams did,\" Nani said. \"This is a situation we must stick together from today to try to do our best to see what we can help and what we can support.”Sounders defender Kelvin Leerdam said that the players wanted to use their platform.“As a group, we decided that we’re part of the world and we’ll let everybody see that the things that happen around us, we aren’t blind to it,” Leerdam said. “That’s why we took a stand to not play today.”Earlier in the day, Major League Soccer issued a statement about the shooting in Kenosha.“MLS unequivocally condemns racism and has always stood for equality, but we need to do more to take tangible steps to impact change. We will continue to work with our players, our clubs and the broader soccer community to harness our collective power to fight for equality and social justice.”"
<https://www.kcra.com/article/athletes-across-professional-sports-halt-games-after-police-shooting-of-black-man-in-wisconsin/33813159>