New York: Major League Soccer (MLS) on Thursday announced the postponement of five of their games, saying that it is "deeply saddened" by the "senseless shooting" of Jacob Blake.
"Major league soccer has made the decision to postpone the remaining five matches -- Miami-Atlanta, Dallas-Colorado, Real Salt Lake-LAFC, San Jose-Portland, La Galaxy-Seattle -- scheduled for this evening. Each match will be rescheduled," MLS said in a Twitter post.
- — Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 26, 2020 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 26, 2020
">— Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 26, 2020
Condemning racism, MLS said it will continue to fight for equality and social justice.
"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.
"The entire major league soccer family unequivocally condemns racism and has always stood for equality, but we need to do more to take tangible steps to impact change. We will continue to work with our players, our clubs and the broader soccer community to harness our collective power to fight for equality and social justice," it added.
- — Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 27, 2020 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 27, 2020
">— Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 27, 2020
Earlier, the National Basketball Association (NBA) had also announced the postponement of the Game 5 of three different series after Milwaukee Bucks decided to boycott their playoff game.
"The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association today announced that in light of the Milwaukee Bucks' decision to not take the floor today for Game 5 against the Orlando Magic, today's three games - Bucks vs. Magic, Houston Rockets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Lakers vs. Portland Trail Blazers - have been postponed. Game 5 of each series will be rescheduled," the NBA had said in a statement.
Announcing the decision to boycott their playoff game, Milwaukee Bucks had cited the 'horrendous' video of Blake, an African American man, being shot in the back seven times by a police officer in Kenosha.
"Over the last few days in our home state of Wisconsin, we've seen the horrendous video of Jacob Blake being shot in the back seven times by a police officer in Kenosha... We are calling for justice for Jacob Blake and demand the officers be held accountable," Milwaukee Bucks had said in a statement.
