SCORN IN THE USA:
Disgusted sports stars strike over police brutality but Osaka and NBA teams planning to return to work
NAOMI OSAKA and the NBA plan to return to work after taking historic strike action in protest over the shooting of Jacob Blake.
Three months after the murder of George Floyd – and four years to the day of Colin Kaepernick’s first public display of defiance – the double Grand Slam champion had joined the Milwaukee Bucks in expressing outrage over the latest police attack on a black man.
“Watching the continued genocide of black people at the hands of police is honestly making me sick to my stomach,” Osaka wrote on Twitter.
And like the NBA side from Wisconsin, where Blake was shot several times in the back, the bestpaid female athlete in the world last year showed her true value by backing her words with action.
While the Bucks refused to play a first-round playoff game in sealed off DisneyWorld, the 2018 US Open champion stepped out of her tennis bubble by stating her wish to withdraw from her semi-final at the Western & Southern Open in New York.
“Before I am an athlete, I am a black woman,” said the Japanese star, whose father is Haitian.
Three more NBA playoffs were postponed last night but after a day of frantic talks, Osaka agreed to play her semi-final against Belgian Elise Mertens in Queens today. She felt she had made her point. In a statement, Osaka said:
“As you know, I pulled out of the tournament yesterday in support of racial injustice and continued police violence. I was (and am) ready and prepared to concede the match to my opponent.
“However, after my announcement and lengthy consultation with the WTA and USTA, I have agreed at their request to play on Friday. They offered to postpone all matches until Friday and in my mind that brings more attention to the movement. I want to thank the WTA and the tournament for their support.”
All three courts used for the NBA playoffs in Florida were painted with the words “Black Lives Matter” while players across the world since Floyd’s death on May 25 have taken the knee, worn T-shirts and showed solidarity.
Baseball and soccer matches were also cancelled (and Nashville FC took the knee before their MLS game against Orlando, below) as protests raised the political temperature a little more than two months before the US Presidential election.
On Monday, the day after the shooting of Blake, white St Louis couple Mark and Patricia McCloskey – who are facing charges for brandishing guns at Black Lives Matter protesters – were invited to speak at the Republican Convention.
The following day the LA Clippers coach Doc Rivers said: “All you hear is Donald Trump and all of them talking about fear. We’re the ones getting killed. We’re the ones getting shot.”
And LeBron James tweeted: “**** THIS MAN !!!! WE DEMAND CHANGE. SICK OF IT.”
Watching the continued genocide of black people at the hands of police is honestly making me sick to my stomach