Barack Obama advised LeBron James and other players during their Jacob Blake social justice boycott



Former President Barack Obama reportedly advised top NBA players during their boycott last week in protest of the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the Athletic reported.

The NBA postponed two days of playoff games last week in response to the Blake shooting and subsequent protests and riots in Wisconsin. The protest began when the Milwaukee Bucks, without consulting other teams, decided at the last minute not to take the court for a playoff game against the Orlando Magic.

The call was reportedly initiated by Chris Paul, who is the president of the NBA players union, and included LeBron James and a small group of other players. CNN reported:

Katie Hill, a spokeswoman for Obama, told CNN in a statement, "As an avid basketball fan, President Obama speaks regularly with players and league officials. When asked, he was happy to provide advice on Wednesday night to a small group of NBA players seeking to leverage their immense platforms for good after their brave and inspiring strike in the wake of Jacob Blake's shooting."

"They discussed establishing a social justice committee to ensure that the players' and league's actions this week led to sustained, meaningful engagement on criminal justice and police reform."

The league resumed play over the weekend, pointing to a decision by team owners to use NBA arenas as voting centers in November as a sign that the protest was successful. There were no predetermined goals for the spontaneous protest, so part of the challenge for the league was to figure out what exactly players wanted in order to start playing again.

The protest began Wednesday, and players met Wednesday night. James and Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard reportedly were adamant about cancelling the rest of the playoffs. CBS Sports reported that James didn't feel like the team owners were doing enough, although what specifically that means in the context of police shootings is unclear.

Obama spoke with the players Wednesday night as well. By Thursday morning, again without detailed explanation, James had reportedly changed his mind and decided that it would be best for the season to continue.

NBA ratings have been down all season, even dating back to before COVID-19, and have continued to decrease since play resumed in July.

Black Lives Matter co-founder calls for Hollywood to go on strike over Jacob Blake shooting



On Wednesday, the entire Milwaukee Bucks team refused to participate in its NBA playoff game against the Orlando Magic as a form of protest to call for justice in the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Then, other sports leagues including the MLB, MLS, and WNBA, postponed some or all games on Wednesday as a way to take a stand against racial injustice. Following criticism, the NHL postponed its Stanley Cup playoff games on Thursday and Friday in an effort to show solidarity to the movement.

Now, a co-founder of Black Lives Matter is calling for Hollywood to show allegiance to their cause.

Patrisse Cullors, one of the co-founders of the Black Lives Matter organization, is calling for Hollywood to go on strike to protest the police shooting of Blake.

"I think it's time for talent, writers, executives, the guild and SAG to show up for Black lives as well," Cullors told the Hollywood Reporter. "Join this strike. Now is the time and our movement is really looking to unions to step in in a particular way and say 'We're going to hold back on allowing for the exploitation and the degradation of Black communities to continue under our watch.' I think Hollywood can really show up in this moment."

Cullors revealed that she and others in the Black Lives Matter movement have discussed possible protest ideas with Hollywood "talent."

"People are tired of having to say the same thing over and over again, and not seeing the change that we deserve from either party, frankly," Cullors said of Republicans and Democrats.

"I think the work that we're up against right now is to ensure that we can get [President Donald] Trump out of office, but also ensure that we can get the Democratic Party to truly create policies that will make sure that Black people are protected from vigilantes and from police torture," she stated.

In June, Cullors also said BLM's goal "is to get Trump out" out of the White House.

"Well, I'm hands down – Trump not only needs to not be in office in November but he should resign now," Cullors told CNN's Jake Tapper. "Trump needs to be out of office. He is not fit for office. And so what we are going to push for is a move to get Trump out."

"While we're also going to continue to push and pressure Vice President Joe Biden around his policies and relationship to policing and criminalization," Cullors said of the Democratic presidential nominee. "That's going to be important. But our goal is to get Trump out."

The Black Lives Matter organization was created by Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometi in 2013 as a response to the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. The group has a self-described mission of building "local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes."

Cullors was seen in a 2015 interview divulging that she and her fellow BLM creators are "trained Marxists."

"Myself and Alicia in particular are trained organizers. We are trained Marxists," Cullors said in the interview. "We are super-versed on, sort of, ideological theories."

NBA players decide to resume playoffs after a few days of protesting Jacob Blake shooting with boycott



The NBA will most likely resume its postseason this weekend after taking a couple of days off to protest the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, ESPN reported.

"NBA playoff games for today will not be played as scheduled," an NBA statement read. "We are hopeful to resume games either Friday or Saturday. There is a video conference call meeting scheduled later this afternoon between a group of NBA players and team governors representing the 13 teams in Orlando, along with representatives from the National Basketball Players Association and the league office and NBA Labor Relations Committee Chairman Michael Jordan, to discuss next steps."

The protest began Wednesday when the Milwaukee Bucks decided not to take the court for game 5 of their playoff series against the Orlando Magic. The Magic were warming up on the court for the game, meanwhile the Bucks were on a Zoom call with Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, discussing what they could do about the unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

The Magic also agreed not to play, leading to the other four teams scheduled for Wednesday night action to join the protest.

For a brief period of time Wednesday night, the NBA season seemed to be in jeopardy. Most teams wanted to resume, but two of the league's highest profile teams—the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers—voted to end the season altogether.

The strike began somewhat spontaneously with the Bucks, because the Blake shooting occurred in their home state. Because it wasn't an organized protest, there was no clear goal or change being sought. Some players were reportedly upset that the Bucks decided to disrupt the season without consulting anyone else.

The spontaneous protest led to cancellation of Thursday's games as well, but a question remained: What purpose would not playing games serve?

"The question we asked our players: What do you hope to accomplish by not playing the games?" a team executive told ESPN. "The answers were very different. I think that's something everyone is still formulating for themselves. What's the endgame here, and does not playing accomplish it?"

After hours of deliberation, the players have decided to return to games, likely due to a combination of financial considerations for both owners and players, and a lack of agreement on how a boycott could serve to make a positive social change.

Violent and destructive riots have broken out each night in Kenosha, Wisconsin, since Jacob Blake was shot seven times in the back Sunday by a police officer after resisting arrest during a domestic disturbance call.