The week in review: U.S. sports teams take a collective stand

This past week included one of the broadest political statements across sports leagues that the United States has ever seen: walkouts involving hundreds of athletes in the NBA, WNBA and NHL as well as Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer. Here is how it unfolded:

• George Hill, a guard for the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks, vented his frustration at social injustice following Sunday's shooting by police of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin, saying his league's decision to resume its season in a bubble at Walt Disney World has prevented players from working to address the country's problems with racial violence and police brutality. Hill made his comments after the Bucks defeated the Orlando Magic in a playoff game.

• Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell wore a "Black Lives Matter" T-shirt before his team's MLB game with the Cincinnati Reds. "We've got a systemic problem that we need to address, and we all need to educate ourselves," Counsell said.

• The Detroit Lions of the NFL took a collective stand against police brutality by canceling practice. "We had our team meeting this morning and no football was talked about," quarterback Matthew Stafford said. "Coach [Matt Patricia] just opened the floor. The conversations lasted four hours, and it was incredible to be a part of it."

• Doc Rivers, the coach of the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers, grew emotional talking about how racism in policing has affected him as he spoke to reporters after his team beat the Dallas Mavericks in a playoff game. Said Rivers, who is Black and the son of a Chicago police officer: "It's amazing why we keep loving this country, and this country does not love us back."

• Minutes before the Bucks were to tip off in Game 5 of their NBA playoff series against Orlando, only the Magic remained on the court during warmups. Eventually, the Magic left the court as well. A little more than an hour later, the NBA postponed all three of its games.

• Down the road in Bradenton, Fla., the Lynx, Los Angeles Sparks, Washington Mystics and Atlanta Dream — the four WNBA teams that had arrived to the arena early — gathered on the court and discussed whether they would play games. ESPN's Holly Rowe reported that players had decided to play while honoring Blake by putting the ball down during the seventh minute of each quarter. But the players continued to huddle and instead chose to lock arms, kneel and raise a fist with their coaches and support staffs on the court.

• Mystics players wore white T-shirts spelling out Blake's name on the front. Each shirt showed seven bloody bullet holes in the back.

• Later, Dominic Smith of the New York Mets spoke through tears after deciding to protest during "The Star-Spangled Banner" before his team played the Miami Marlins. It was a last-minute decision, spurred by reports he'd seen moments earlier about athletes boycotting games across the country.

•The NHL was the only American league that went ahead full speed on Wednesday.

• With more games called off — seven in Major League Baseball — the prior day's insurgency led professional and college teams in other sports to hurriedly scratch their plans, too.

• Ron Rivera, coach of the professional football team in Washington, a franchise with a troubled history on race, said the day would be reserved for "reflection instead" of football. The New York Jets, the Indianapolis Colts and the Green Bay Packers were among the teams that also canceled practices.

• Boston College, Kentucky and South Florida abandoned plans for football practices. "What happened to Jacob Blake is history repeating itself," Max Richardson, a linebacker at Boston College, wrote on Twitter. "These countless tragedies are reoccurring. There can be no more ignorance. Changes WILL come. And our team will know/acknowledge the history of oppression."

• The NHL joined the movement, albeit late, postponing games scheduled for Thursday and Friday.

News services