The San Diego Padres' scheduled home game tonight against the Seattle Mariners was postponed after the visiting team voted unanimously not to play in protest of the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The game was scheduled to begin at 6:10 p.m. at Petco Park. The decision to cancel it followed the boycott of all three NBA playoff games scheduled for Wednesday, and the postponement of the Milwaukee Brewers- Cincinnati Reds game.
The Padres issued a statement about 5:30 p.m. regarding the postponement, which read, "We understand the Mariners' decision to postpone tonight's game and we support the players' efforts to use their platform to bring awareness to the very serious issue of racial injustice impacting our country today."
The Mariners' Dee Gordon, one of several Black players on the team, tweeted the following statement this afternoon: "There are serious issues in this country. For me, and for many of my teammates, the injustices, violence, death and systemic racism is deeply personal. This is impacting not only my community, but very directly my family and friends. Our team voted unanimously not to play tonight. Instead of watching us, we hope people will focus on the things more important than sports that are happening."
The Mariners issued a statement about an hour before the game was slated to begin, in support of the players' decision.
"The Seattle Mariners respect the team's decision to not play tonight's game," it read. "The Seattle Mariners stand with our players as they speak out with their words and actions against social injustice."
There was no immediate announcement regarding when the game might be rescheduled.
After the Brewers and Reds postponed their game earlier in the day, other MLB teams began discussing similar moves, including the Mariners, who have the most Black players in the league.
The NBA boycott was initiated by the Milwaukee Bucks players, who failed to take the court for their scheduled early afternoon game against the Orlando Magic, telling league officials they were boycotting. It soon became apparent that the rest of the NBA teams scheduled to play Wednesday would follow suit.
Blake, 29, was shot several times in the back Sunday in front of his three children as he tried to enter his SUV after a confrontation with police. Authorities have not provided any information about what led to the shooting, which was captured on video.
Blake remains hospitalized, and his family says he is paralyzed from the waist down.
