Meaningful change would be holding law enforcement to the same impossible standard that athletes are duty bound
Thirty-three weeks. That’s how long it had been since the Milwaukee Bucks walked away from a playoff game against the Orlando Magic. That boycott – hatched after police in Wisconsin shot an unarmed black man named Jacob Blake – started out as a surprise to the Orlando Magic only to become news to the world as other NBA, WNBA, MLB and NHL teams and the Western & Southern Open tennis tournament took timeouts, too. “We are expected to play at a high level, give maximum effort and hold each other accountable,” the Bucks said in a statement explaining their boycott. “We are demanding the same from our lawmakers and law enforcement.”
For a single summer weekend America was denied its escape into sports and couldn’t blame the blackout dates on Covid. It felt like a turning point. But now? It feels like turning circles.