26 August 2020
The Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday boycotted Game 5 of their first-round NBA playoff series over the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Why it matters: The decision comes amid growing outrage over the shooting of Blake on Sunday in Kenosha, 40 miles outside of Milwaukee. Many NBA players decided to participate in the league's coronavirus "bubble" experiment in order to use their platform to bring awareness to social justice issues, including policy brutality against Black people.
- The Bucks, who stayed in their locker room as the game was set to tip off, are just one game away from advancing from their opening-round playoff series against the Orlando Magic.
What they're saying: The team said in a statement on Monday, "The Bucks organization is praying for the recovery of Jacob Blake, who was shot multiple times in the back by a police officer at point-blank range."
- “We stand firmly against reoccurring issues of excessive use of force and immediate escalation when engaging the Black community," the team added.
- “Our organization will continue to stand for all Black lives as we demand accountability and systemic change on behalf of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Sylville Smith, Ernest Lacy, Dontre Hamilton, Tony Robinson, Joel Acevedo and countless other victims. We will work to enact policy change so these incidents no longer exist."
- Bucks guard George Hill said on Tuesday that he regrets coming to Florida to play in the series after the shooting: “First of all, we shouldn’t have even came to this damn place, to be honest. I think coming here just took all the focal points off what the issues are.”
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.