SAN DIEGO — The Seattle Mariners have chosen to not play tonight’s game against the San Diego Padres in protest of the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin.
The shooting of Blake, who is Black, was captured on cellphone video and has ignited new protests over racial injustice in several cities, coming just three months after the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, which touched off a wider reckoning on race.
The decision from the Mariners was first reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan and follows the cancellation of the Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds game tonight.
Both games will be televised on ROOT SPORTS and broadcast by 710 ESPN Seattle and the Mariners radio network.
The NBA officially canceled all three of Wednesday night’s playoff games after the Milwaukee Bucks decided not to take the court for their Game 5 matchup against the Orlando Magic.
The Mariners have the most Black players of any team in Major League Baseball. Dee Gordon said the team made the decision unanimously.
There are serious issues in this country. For me, and for many of my teammates, the injustices, violence, death and systemic racism is deeply personal. This is impacting not only my community, but very directly my family and friends. Our team voted unanimously not to play tonight
— Dee Gordon (@FlashGJr) August 26, 2020
“Instead of watching us, we hope people will focus on the things more important than sports that are happening,” Gordon went on to say.
Wednesday night’s game was set to begin at 6:10 p.m.
However, the Mariners said the game will be made up Thursday as part of a traditional doubleheader starting at 12:10 p.m. (PT), and they will be seven-inning regulation games.
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