The Red Sox have decided not to play Thursday night’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays to protest social injustice and police brutality, per Julian McWilliams of The Boston Globe. This decision comes after the NBA saw players decide to boycott all of Wednesday‘s games in support of the cause. Red Sox OF Jackie Bradley Jr. announced he wouldn’t be playing in the game regardless of whether or not there was an official postponement.
The Red Sox join the Celtics as the only teams in Boston to hold out in response to this week’s events in Wisconsin. The Celtics also posted the following message on their social media to alert fans to ways they can help:
The Patriots went ahead with training camp as scheduled despite ten teams across the NFL cancelling their practices over the last two days: Bears, Broncos, Cardinals, Chargers, Colts, Jets, Lions, Packers, Titans and Washington. The Bruins played their playoff game Wednesday night, with veteran defenseman Zdeno Chara expressing his support for the decision made by NBA players after the game. Chara went on to say the Bruins never considered sitting out their game because by the time they heard about the NBA boycotts, they were already gearing up to play: “I don’t think any of us were watching TV until we got to the rink and by then it was too close to the start of the game.”
The NHL has announced the postponement of all of Thursday’s playoff games. All leagues are expected to resume play this weekend with additional measures to promote social justice and equality expected from each league. Jackie Robinson Day, which is usually held annually on April 15th, had previously been rescheduled for Friday to account for the shortened season. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported the MLB and the player’s union have begun discussing how to amplify certain messages specifically for Jackie Robinson Day.
Photo: (Stuart Cahill/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
