Report: Lakers, Clippers Vote To End Season Following Boycott
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – Following the NBA players' historic boycott of playoff games Wednesday night in response to the Wisconsin police shooting of Jacob Blake, both the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers players allegedly called for an end to the season.
In a meeting involving players and coaches Wednesday night at Walt Disney World in Orlando, the Lakers and Clippers players voted in favor of boycotting the remainder of the season, sources told the Athletic's Shams Charania.
They were the only two teams to do so, with every other team voting in favor of continuing to play. James exited the emotional meeting, with the rest of the Lakers and Clippers players trailing behind him, Charania reports.
All this comes after the Milwaukee Bucks Wednesday afternoon chose to boycott Game 5 of their series against the Orlando Magic just minutes before tip-off.
The teams involved in the two other games slated for Wednesday -- the Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers – followed suit and boycotted as well.
The NBA then announced that the games were being postponed. It's unclear if the games scheduled for Thursday will go forward. The NBA owners and the players were set to meet separately Thursday morning, per ESPN.
The Bucks' move also sparked a wave of similar cancellations across Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer. The L.A. Dodgers tilt with the San Francisco Giants was canceled, as was LAFC's match with Real Salt Lake and the L.A. Galaxy's match with Seattle.
James, who has been active and vocal on issues of social and racial justice, took to Twitter, writing, "F--- THIS MAN!!!! WE DEMAND CHANGE. SICK OF IT."
Following the Lakers Game 4 win over the Blazers Monday, James spoke at length about Blake's shooting.
"Quite frankly, it's just f----- up in our community," James said Monday. "I know people get tired of me saying it, but we are scared as Black people in America. Black men, Black women, Black kids, we are terrified."
