No NBA playoff games were played on Wednesday as the Milwaukee Bucks did not come to the court for their pregame warmups ahead of game five of their first round matchup against the Orlando Magic. The team officially announced its protest of the game right around scheduled tip-off time of 3:10 PM. It is well-chronicled what has happened in the hours since, but there is no doubt that this is a significant moment in not only NBA history, but perhaps in our country’s history as well. The Jacob Blake shooting in Wisconsin is just the latest of a seemingly never-ending string police shootings involving African American citizens.

The league is reportedly meeting Wednesday night in the bubble to discuss how it will handle the rest of its season. At this point, it’s no given that all players will be willing to continue the playoffs. Bucks guard George Hill voiced his frustration earlier in the week with being in the bubble in the first place, but other players have told reporters, “We’re here already. Let’s finish what we started.”

The Bucks addressed the media as a team on Wednesday night and read the following statement:

The Bucks statement, in print: “When we take the court and represent Milwaukee and Wisconsin, we are expected to play at a high level, give maximum effort and hold each other accountable… In this moment, we are demanding the same from our lawmakers and law enforcement.” pic.twitter.com/LrLKtsNvWs

— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) August 26, 2020

Locally, the Mavericks were not scheduled to play tonight, but it is definitely worth monitoring if their game six against the Clippers will go on as planned on Thursday night. So far, seemingly only Antonius Cleveland has posted about this on social media.

Let’s leave our mark on history . #blacklivesmatter

— ❄️ (@ac_uno1) August 26, 2020

Owner Mark Cuban has made some limited comments to various media members via email.

Owner of the @dallasmavs @mcuban
“I fully support our players. Change is never easy. I’m proud of our guys for taking the lead and using their platform to try and effect change. I am with them every step of the way”

— Stephanie Ruhle (@SRuhle) August 26, 2020

Mavs owner @mcuban. pic.twitter.com/3bA46VuOuO

— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) August 26, 2020

Across the sports world, various games across other leagues have been canceled on Wednesday as well. Locally, the Rangers went ahead with their game against the Oakland Athletics in Arlington. FC Dallas had a game scheduled for 7:30 at Toyota Stadium that was postponed. The Stars have game three of their second round series against the Avalanche scheduled for 9:30 inside the NHL “bubble” in Edmonton, Alberta.

This situation is very fluid and things can change by the minute, but one thing is certain: We at Dallas Sports Fanatic stand for equality for all, no exceptions. Our support is with the NBA players as they look to use their platforms to promote positive  and justified change in our country.