OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) — The Oakland Athletics announced the postponement of Thursday’s game against the Texas Rangers in solidarity with other leagues who are boycotting games nationwide following the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
The A’s released a statement in support of its players, the athletes across the MLB, NBA, WNBA and MLS, and the Black community.
A’s players released individual statements on the matter.
“The city that we play in has a long history of fighting for what is right, and that is what we’re trying to do here,” Oakland shortstop Marcus Semien said. “I feel like a lot of our fans will have our backs on this one.”
“We can no longer stay quiet,” Tony Kemp added.
Team manager Bob Melvin also released a statement.
“I think everybody felt the same way. That there are bigger things at stake right now,” Melvin said. “There are more important things than baseball even though you have a job to do.”
The Milwaukee Brewers were the first MLB team to refuse to play their game on Wednesday, just moments after the Milwaukee Bucks decided to boycott their playoff game against the Orlando Magic.
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