Black players matter.
They mattered when they knelt to protest police brutality.
They mattered when they decried the killing of George Floyd.
They have raised fists and boycotted anthems and broadcast their grief, but sadly they may never have mattered as much, in terms of social impact, as they did on Wednesday.
The Milwaukee Bucks refused to participate in a playoff game because police officers in Kenosha, Wis., shot a Black man seven times in the back while his children watched.
Three NBA playoff games were postponed by the players.
The WNBA, leaders on social justice all along, decided not to play.
The Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds became the first Major League Baseball teams to boycott a game in support of social justice. Two more baseball games followed, along with five MLS matches.