NBA players agree to resume playoffs after Wednesday's protest of Jacob Blake shooting: reports

Players have agreed to resume the playoffs for the National Basketball Association, according to reports, including one from ESPN, based on a tweet from one of its reporters, Adrian Wojnarowski, on Thursday, citing sources familiar. The reporting comes after three playoff games were postponed on Wednesday after the Milwaukee Bucks' decision to refuse to participate in a playoff game in protest of the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man in Kenosha, Wis. The so-called boycott has rippled across the sports world. The news on Thursday helped to push shares of sports-betting platform DraftKings Inc. , which rose 2.7% on the news, and while similar firm Penn National Gaming Inc. was trading flat, paring earlier losses. According to ESPN, three playoff games for Thursday will be postponed, and it was unclear when the games would be rescheduled. According to TMZ Sports, the players were debating on ending the season prematurely in protest of racial injustice but believe that the games may offer a strong platform for articulating their concerns about structural racism and police brutality. The news source said that players had submitted a list of "actionable items" that they wanted addressed before they returned to play. CNBC reported that games could possible begin by this weekend.

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