Gov. Phil Murphy sent a “huge shout out” to NBA players who boycotted Wednesday’s playoff games at the “bubble” in Orlando where the league is playing all its games to finish the 2019-20 season.

“In the wake of the shooting of Jacob Blake and countless other Black Americans, the peaceful protests and boycotts across our nation reflect the pain and power of this movement,” Muprhy tweeted on Wednesday.

U.S. Cory Booker, D-N.J., also sent his support for the boycott.

"The Milwaukee Bucks are calling our attention to the injustice of systemic racism and igniting an even greater demand for change. Let us salute them and stand with all of the athletes striking tonight," Booker wrote on his Twitter account. "Our nation must come together and boldly affirm the dignity of Black lives."

Players are still angry and emotional after the shooting of Jacob Blake by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin. NBA players considered not playing the rest of the postseason and going home to their communities, although they decided Thursday they wanted to continue, according to a person with knowledge of the details. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no official announcement had been made.

The NHL, which had been been criticized by its Hockey Diversity Alliance for not postponing its games on Wednesday will postpone the Flyers-Islanders matchup on Thursday, unnamed sources told ESPN.

Games between Milwaukee and Orlando, Houston and Oklahoma City and the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland were canceled on Wednesday along with WNBA and Major League Baseball games.

 

(Includes material copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ

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