by 
The Oakland A’s and Texas Rangers postponed the final game of a four-game series in Arlington.
The A’s discussed not playing Wednesday’s game, as a handful of MLB teams had done, but they ultimately decided to play because the discussion occurred too close to first pitch.
“It was really close to game time,” manager Bob Melvin said after the A’s 3-1 win Wednesday. “And we decided to play. I did give the option for anybody who did not feel comfortable playing not to play.”
The decision for the A’s and Rangers to postpone Thursday’s game came hours prior to the scheduled first pitch at 3:37 p.m. PT. The game’s postponement comes in the wake of the shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man shot multiple times by a police officer in Kenosha, Wis. on Sunday.
Hours after the A’s game Wednesday, infielder Tony Kemp, who started the +1 Effect project opens up a dialogue about race in America in the wake of GeoJacrge Floyd’s killing by police in Minneapolis earlier this year, tweeted:
“This is bigger than sports. Period.”
After his start Monday in Texas, A’s starter Jesús Luzardo began his postgame press conference with a statement regarding Blake.
“My thoughts and prayers out to Jacob Blake and his family and close ones for his incident that happened today,” he said. “I feel that shows that we really need change.”
In 2017, former A’s catcher Bruce Maxwell was the first baseball player to kneel during the national anthem, following then-49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s lead.
Strikes swept the sports world Wednesday, first in the NBA. In the Orlando bubble, the Milwaukee Bucks — the NBA team closest, geographically, to the incident — decided to stay in their locker room prior to Game 5 of their playoff series against the Orlando Magic. This prompted the NBA to postpone Wednesday’s playoff games until Friday, according to multiple reports.
The movement swept into MLB, when the Milwaukee Brewers agreed to postpone their game against the Cincinnati Reds. The San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers as well as the Seattle Mariners and San Diego Padres postponed their match-ups Wednesday, too.
A number of Black MLB players, including Rockies outfielder Matt Kemp, Cubs outfielder Jason Heyward and Cardinals outfielder Dexter Fowler chose not to participate in respective games Wednesday.
Source:: The Mercury News – Sports
