NBA players reportedly vote to resume playoffs after sitting out in protest

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — After 20 hours of tension over racial injustices that threatened to upend the NBA’s restart, players have reportedly agreed to resume the playoffs.

ESPN was first to report that NBA players met Thursday morning at the Coronado Springs Resort and voted to play again, less than a day after the Milwaukee Bucks sat out their planned Game 5 against the Orlando Magic in the first round of the NBA playoffs. The protest stemmed from widespread outrage over police shooting Jacob Blake seven times in the back Sunday in Kenosha, Wisconsin – an incident captured on a video that has since gone viral.

Concerns that the season would be ended altogether heightened late Wednesday night, as the Lakers and Clippers emerged as two of the most vocal supporters of continuing to sit out, LeBron James most notably among them. The Lakers attended Thursday’s league-wide player meeting late as they conducted a team meeting themselves, a source told Southern California News Group.

Players still widely desire change to racial injustices that plague Black communities. The league’s players are 80% Black and political sentiments such as Black Lives Matter have been at the forefront of the NBA’s restart at Walt Disney World Resort. But ESPN reported that players and owners planned to meet Thursday afternoon to discuss further action.

Two playoff Game 6s scheduled for Thursday evening – Utah vs. Denver and Clippers vs. Dallas – are widely considered doubtful as the league continued to work out the issues of the stoppage. Games that did not take place Wednesday are likely to be rescheduled.

The stoppage spawned similar sit-outs in leagues across the country, including Major League Baseball, the WNBA and Major League Soccer. Other athletic events Thursday were up in the air.

More to come on this story.