NBA: Toronto Raptors to consider snubbing the second round series after Jacob Blake shooting

Toronto Raptors players are considering snubbing their forthcoming NBA playoff series opener against the Boston Celtics as another police shooting takes centre stage in the USA.

A team meeting was held by the players prior to Tuesday’s practice to discuss how they respond to the shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man shot in the back by police officers Sunday in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

“It’s being talked about … taking a knee is not getting it done,” Raptors guard Norman Powell says in an interview with reporters.

Raptors Guard Fred VanVleet also said many options are on the table.

“We knew coming here or not coming here was not going to stop anything, but I think ultimately playing or not playing puts pressure on somebody,” VanVleet says.

“At the end of the day, if we’re gonna sit here and talk about making change, then at some point we’re gonna have to put our (manhood) on the line and actually put something up to lose, rather than just money or visibility.

“I’m just over the media aspect of it. It’s sensationalized, we talk about it every day, that’s all we see, but it just feels like a big pacifier to me.”

A video that surfaced online shows Blake, trying to get into his van, with an officer pulling Blake’s white T-shirt, then firing several shots at close range into his back.

The father of the victim told news outlets his son has been rendered paralyzed from his waist down after being shot several times.

“We’re the ones always with the microphones in our face,” VanVleet says.

“We’re the ones always who have to make a stand. But, like, we’re the oppressed ones, and the responsibility falls on us to make a change to stop being oppressed, you know what I’m saying?

“Do we actually give an (expletive) about what’s going on, or is it just cool to wear ‘Black Lives Matter’ on the backdrop, or wear a T-shirt? Like, what does that really mean? Is it really doing anything?”

The first-round game between the Raptors and the Celtics Eastern Conference semi-finals is scheduled to kick off on Thursday night in Orlando.

The Toronto Raptors players aren’t the only ones pushing for a change though as the recent deaths of unarmed Black men and women, shot by police, has forced NBA players to wise up and rise up beyond the court.

Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics, LeBron James who plays for the LA Lakers are among the many who have spoken out.