NBA Referees March in Solidarity With Players After Jacob Blake Shooting

NBA official Marc Davis: “This isn’t about right versus left. This is about right versus wrong. It’s everybody versus racism.”

Six NBA teams sat out Wednesday's round-one games following the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wis., and the league's referees voiced their support for the decision on Thursday.

Referees in Orlando gathered at the Walt Disney World resort on Thursday morning before marching throughout the NBA's campus. They were joined by a host of team and NBA employees, many of whom wore shirts with the message "everybody vs. racism."

“We’re here because we feel like we’re a representation of America, or what America could be,” NBA official Marc Davis told the Los Angeles Times' Tania Ganguli. “This isn’t about right versus left. This is about right versus wrong. It’s everybody versus racism.”

NBA players met on Wednesday night after the postponement of the three scheduled playoff games. The Clippers and Lakers both voted to cancel the 2019-20 season due to racial injustice and police brutality, though no formal decision has been made.

The league's players and the Board of Governors will meet on Thursday morning. There has been no date set for the resumption of the 2019-20 season if it is not canceled.


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Michael Shapiro
MICHAEL SHAPIRO

Michael Shapiro is a staff writer for Sports Illustrated. He is a Denver native and 2018 graduate of The University of Texas at Austin.