Here’s a roundup of unprecedented moves made by athletes from across the world.

As the Black Lives Matter movement begins to fade out of Instagram and other social media feeds, professional sports leagues and individual players from around the world are taking actions to ensure the issue of police violence against Black people remains front and centre in the public eye.

This week, across the sports world, athletes took a stand for the Black Lives Matter movement by participating in unprecedented strikes and refusing to play their regularly scheduled games. From the NBA’s new Black Lives Matter jerseys and the WNBA’s Black Lives Matter warm-up attire to MLB players collectively deciding to kneel during the national anthem — sports teams and organizations are using their voices to ensure justice is heard and served.

If you missed it, here is a round up of some major moves made by athletes from across the world:

  • Two-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka withdrew from a WTA tennis event in New York ahead of next month’s US Open, leading the tournament to pause indefinitely. “As a Black woman I feel as though there are much more important matters at hand that need immediate attention, rather than watching me play tennis,” the tennis star said in a statement posted on Twitter.
  • Since resuming its season, the NBA has demonstrated solidarity with the “Black Lives Matter” movement. All participants have been wearing shirts or sweatshirts bearing the slogan and have been kneeling before tipoff. On Wednesday, the NBA postponed all three of its Wednesday games after the Bucks’ players refused to leave their locker room with their coaches, General Manager Jon Horst and other team personnel for more than three hours before emerging to demand justice for the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Sunday. The unprecedented decision to postpone the games was quickly followed by a similar decision by the WNBA, which postponed three scheduled games across the state in Bradenton.
  • The New York Mets and Miami Marlins jointly walked off the field after a moment of silence, placing Black Lives Matter T-shirt across home plate as they chose not to play Thursday night.
  • The Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Chargers, New York Jets, Tennessee Titans and Washington Football Team all chose to not practice Thursday in response to the shooting of Jacob Blake.
  • After the first game in Major League Soccer (football) went ahead as planned on Wednesday, the remaining five scheduled games were postponed
  • Protests against police brutality towards Black people also took place in many other sports worldwide. The West Indies cricket team knelt before a test match in Manchester against England in July
Fakiha Baig
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