The New York Mets and Miami Marlins walked off the field last night (Aug. 27) in the latest show of solidarity for the Black Lives Matter movement and protests against police violence. After 29-year-old Black man Jacob Blake was shot seven times by police officers in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Sunday (Aug. 23), sporting events have continued to be boycotted and postponed as athletes demand justice nationwide.
The Mets and Marlins also paid tribute to Jackie Robinson on Thursday (Aug. 27) — one day before Jackie Robinson Day —who was the first Black player in Major League Baseball. Both teams took the field for their scheduled game, but instead removed their hats and bowed their heads for a moment of silence lasting 42 seconds — Robinson’s jersey number.
Players then returned to the dugouts and one athlete draped a “Black Lives Matter” t-shirt over home plate. Watch the powerful moment below.
USA Today reports that the Mets-Marlins game in New York was one of seven MLB games that was postponed on Thursday (Aug. 27). Eight other games went on as scheduled. This week, the NHL called off four playoff games, and the NBA and WNBA postponed all postponed all games.
After Thursday’s morning of meetings between the NBA Board of Governors and players, the league announced that it would resume playing on Saturday (Aug. 28). The Milwaukee Bucks were the first team to lead in the boycott when they refused to walk on court for their game against Orlando Magic.
“Over the last few days in our own state of Wisconsin, we’ve seen the horrendous video of Blake being shot in the back seven times by a police officer in Kenosha and the additional shooting of protesters,” the team said in a statement on Wednesday (Aug. 26). “… When we take the court to represent Milwaukee, Wisconsin; we are expected to play at a high level, give maximum effort and hold each other accountable. We hold ourselves to that standard and in this moment we demand the same from lawmakers and law enforcement.”