London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Three MLB games, including Dodgers-Giants, called off as teams protest Jacob Blake shooting

Three MLB games, including Dodgers-Giants, called off as teams protest Jacob Blake shooting

Protests roiled the sports world on Wednesday, and MLB was no exception

The sports world on Wednesday was shook by protests in response to the recent police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The upheavals began when the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks refused to play a playoff game against the Orlando Magic. Soon after, Wednesday's remaining NBA playoff games were canceled. Following that step, the Milwaukee Brewers elected as a team not to play their scheduled home game against the Reds on Wednesday night. The Reds in turn agreed not to play, which means the Brewers would not be forced to forfeit.

Twelve of MLB's originally scheduled 15 games were played on Wednesday, but other teams and individual players joined the Brewers in protest. Here are the three games that were not played:

* Reds at Brewers
* Mariners at Padres
* Dodgers at Giants

MLB released the following statement Wednesday night:

"Given the pain in the communities of Wisconsin and beyond following the shooting of Jacob Blake, we respect the decisions of a number of players not to play tonight. Major League Baseball remains united for change in our society and we will be allies in the fight to end racism and injustice."

Earlier on Wednesday, Jeff Passan of ESPN tweeted that the Mariners seemed poised to decide against playing their road game against the San Diego Padres. Passan noted that the Mariners have the most Black players of any current MLB roster, and indeed they decided not to take the field in San Diego:


Seattle veteran Dee Gordon tweets that the team's decision not to play was unanimous.

CBS Sports HQ analyst Jim Bowden reported that the Giants and Dodgers were also not going to play as scheduled on Wednesday night. Giants manager Gabe Kapler strongly suggested that his team may opt against playing earlier in the day.


While most MLB games were played on Wednesday night, some players opted to sit out in protest while their teams played. That group included Cubs veteran Jason Heyward, who decided not to play after a conversation with manager David Ross. Jordan Bastian of MLB.com said that Heyward encouraged his teammates to play against the Tigers without him.

Matt Kemp also released the following statement before his Rockies teammates took the field against the Diamondbacks:



Prior to the Cardinals' home game against the Royals, the club released the following statement about Dexter Fowler and Jack Flaherty:


The protests stem from the shooting of Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, by police in Kenosha, which is roughly 40 miles south of Milwaukee.

According to video, police shot Blake multiple times in his back as he attempted to enter his vehicle. Blake remains hospitalized in serious condition, and attorneys for the family say he is now paralyzed. Blake's shooting comes after weeks of turmoil and protest following the killing of George Floyd, another Black man, by Minneapolis police. Tensions surrounding the Blake protests were tragically heightened when a teen from Illinois allegedly shot and killed two protesters Tuesday night.

Wednesday's events were already going to dominate conversation in MLB, and the non-uniform responses to the Blake shooting and the Bucks' decision not to play will no doubt heighten and intensify that dialogue in the days and weeks to come.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
×