Five Major League Soccer matches on Wednesday were postponed as players decided not to play, following the NBA in protesting racial injustice. The developments come just days after the horrific shooting of Jacob Blake, an unarmed 29-year-old Black man, by the police in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Three NBA playoff games that were scheduled for Wednesday were also called off, starting with the Milwaukee Bucks not deciding to take the floor for Game 5 of their series against the Orlando Magic. The entire slate of WNBA games were postponed and several MLB games followed suit.
The following MLS matches were called postponed:
- Inter Miami vs. Atlanta United
- FC Dallas vs. Colorado Rapids
- Los Angeles FC vs. Real Salt Lake
- San Jose Earthquakes vs. Portland Timbers
- Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Seattle Sounders
There was only one game on Wednesday that was played as scheduled: Orlando City vs. Nashville SC. MLS commissioner Don Garber released a statement as the games were called off:
"The entire Major League Soccer family is deeply saddened and horrified by the senseless shooting of Jacob Blake and events in Kenosha. We continue to stand with the black community throughout our country -- including our players and employees -- and share in their pain, anger and frustration," the statement read.
Various MLS teams took to social media to voice their support, including LAFC who said they stand with their players in solidarity with the black community.
We will not be playing our match tonight.
— LAFC (@LAFC) August 27, 2020
We support our players and stand in solidarity with the Black community.#JusticeForJacobBlake pic.twitter.com/XHYeKWzYe5
Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei took to Twitter, writing," Disturbing times, not in the mood to play. Human rights are bigger than sports."
It's unclear exactly when MLS teams will be back in action following this. The next scheduled game is Montreal vs. Toronto on Friday, along with 10 games set for Saturday.
