Milwaukee Bucks Boycott Playoff Game in Protest Over Shooting of Jacob Blake

The Milwaukee Bucks just made an unprecedented statement in the fight for racial and social justice. The top-seeded team in the NBA's Eastern Conference opted to boycott Game 5 of its first-round playoff series in protest over the shooting of Jacob Blake by police officers on Sunday.

A few minutes before the game was about to start we got the first hints that the Bucks might boycott:

Then it was clear something very serious was happening, as the team appeared to be dead-set on sitting out Game 5 in protest:

They then formally made the decision to boycott the game:

The Bucks as an organization have obviously been deeply impacted by the Blake shooting. It happened in their home state just 45 minutes from their arena. The franchise issued a statement after the shooting and guard George Hill even said he doesn't think the NBA's players should be in the Orlando bubble. Milwaukee's roster isn't the only one feeling conflicted and emotional over the police shooting yet another black man. On Tuesday night, Doc Rivers held back tears as he gave a passionate speech about it.

An entire roster agreeing to sit out a playoff game in protest of racial and social inequality is a monumental statement.

There is no word how the NBA will treat this situation. The Magic wanted to play, so this may turn into a forfeit, but that's a concern for another time. For now, this was a tremendous display of solidarity from the Bucks.

Here's George Hill's statement given after the boycott became official.

Bucks players are using this time to try to contact the attorney general of the state of Wisconsin.

Here's the NBA's statement on today's events.