PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland Timbers will not play Wednesday night’s match against the San Jose Earthquakes.
The team released a statement saying, “racial injustice and police brutality towards Black people in our country must end now.”
The decision comes after athletes across multiple sports, most notably the NBA, decided not to play Wednesday in protest of the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Sunday. Blake, a Black man, was shot multiple times by a police officer and a family lawyer said it would be a “miracle” for him to walk again.
Earlier on Wednesday, NBA players decided to sit out their playoff games. Once it became clear players from other teams were also not going to play, the NBA postponed all three playoff games that were scheduled Wednesday, including the Portland Trail Blazers’ Game 5 matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers.
