Sports Postponed as Americans Protest Racism in Law Enforcement
2020-08-28
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1Three months ago, the death of George Floyd under arrest by police in Minneapolis, Minnesota, incited protests of brutality and systemic racism in law enforcement.
2Now, a police shooting this week in Kenosha, Wisconsin, has led to more protests.
3On Sunday, a Kenosha police officer shot Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man.
4Blake's lawyer has said he was attempting to break up a fight between two women when he was wounded.
5Blake remains hospitalized from his wounds.
6Video captured by a neighbor shows Blake walks around his vehicle followed by two police officers.
7As Blake opens the driver's side door, an officer pulls his shirts from behind and shoots him seven times.
8A woman standing by the car is seen jumping up and down calling for help.
9His three young children were reportedly inside the vehicle.
10Protests in Wisconsin and elsewhere began Sunday night.
11They have continued throughout the week.
12The protests turned deadly on Tuesday when a 17-year-old white man shot at protesters.
13Two people were killed and one person was severely wounded.
14Kyle Rittenhouse from nearby Antioch, Illinois, is the suspect in the shooting.
15He was charged Wednesday with first-degree intentional homicide after being seen on video captured at the scene.
16In the video, Rittenhouse is seen running through the street carrying a semi-automatic rifle.
17He trips, falls to the ground and opens fire at people who had been chasing him.
18A man shouts, "Hey, he just shot them... He just shot them down there," as several police vehicles pass by without stopping.
19Some professional athletes have joined the Kenosha protests.
20On Wednesday night, members of the Milwaukee Bucks professional basketball team refused to play their planned NBA game.
21The team represents a Wisconsin city about 64 kilometers north of Kenosha.
22Team members wore clothes saying "Black Lives Matter" as they read a statement.
23They said they were "calling for justice for Jacob Blake and demand(ing) the officers be held accountable."
24They asked the state of Wisconsin legislature to return to work to address police action and criminal justice reform.
25The players added, "We encourage all citizens to educate themselves, take peaceful and responsible action, and remember to vote on Nov. 3."
26Naomi Osaka is a Grand Slam tennis champion who is half Black and half Japanese.
27She announced Wednesday that she would not continue to play in the Western & Southern Open tennis competition.
28She explained that she was doing so to take a stand against police violence against Black people in the United States.
29Osaka wrote on Twitter, " I don't expect anything drastic to happen with me not playing, but if I can get a conversation started in a majority white sport I consider that a step in the right direction."
30Players in other professional sports leagues, including the Women's NBA, Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer, have also gone on strike in protest of the Blake shooting.
31Many games have been postponed.
32Speaking to the Republican National Convention from Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence defended law enforcement.
33He did not directly note police violence against Floyd, Blake and other Black Americans.
34The vice president said, "The American people know we don't have to choose between supporting law enforcement and standing with African American neighbors to improve the quality of life in our cities and towns."
35Doc Rivers, who is Black, coaches the Los Angeles Clippers, an NBA team.
36He talked to reporters after his team played a game on Wednesday night.
37He said "just watching the Republican Convention... all of them talk about fear."
38"We're the ones getting killed. We're the ones getting shot.
39We're the ones denied to live in certain communities.
40We've been hung. We've been shot. And all you do is keep hearing about fear. It's amazing to me..."
41I'm Bryan Lynn.
1Three months ago, the death of George Floyd under arrest by police in Minneapolis, Minnesota, incited protests of brutality and systemic racism in law enforcement. Now, a police shooting this week in Kenosha, Wisconsin, has led to more protests. 2On Sunday, a Kenosha police officer shot Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man. Blake's lawyer has said he was attempting to break up a fight between two women when he was wounded. Blake remains hospitalized from his wounds. 3Video captured by a neighbor shows Blake walks around his vehicle followed by two police officers. As Blake opens the driver's side door, an officer pulls his shirts from behind and shoots him seven times. A woman standing by the car is seen jumping up and down calling for help. His three young children were reportedly inside the vehicle. 4Protests in Wisconsin and elsewhere began Sunday night. They have continued throughout the week. The protests turned deadly on Tuesday when a 17-year-old white man shot at protesters. Two people were killed and one person was severely wounded. 5Kyle Rittenhouse from nearby Antioch, Illinois, is the suspect in the shooting. He was charged Wednesday with first-degree intentional homicide after being seen on video captured at the scene. 6In the video, Rittenhouse is seen running through the street carrying a semi-automatic rifle. He trips, falls to the ground and opens fire at people who had been chasing him. A man shouts, "Hey, he just shot them... He just shot them down there," as several police vehicles pass by without stopping. 7Stop the games 8Some professional athletes have joined the Kenosha protests. 9On Wednesday night, members of the Milwaukee Bucks professional basketball team refused to play their planned NBA game. The team represents a Wisconsin city about 64 kilometers north of Kenosha. 10Team members wore clothes saying "Black Lives Matter" as they read a statement. They said they were "calling for justice for Jacob Blake and demand(ing) the officers be held accountable." They asked the state of Wisconsin legislature to return to work to address police action and criminal justice reform. 11The players added, "We encourage all citizens to educate themselves, take peaceful and responsible action, and remember to vote on Nov. 3." 12Naomi Osaka is a Grand Slam tennis champion who is half Black and half Japanese. She announced Wednesday that she would not continue to play in the Western & Southern Open tennis competition. She explained that she was doing so to take a stand against police violence against Black people in the United States. 13Osaka wrote on Twitter, " I don't expect anything drastic to happen with me not playing, but if I can get a conversation started in a majority white sport I consider that a step in the right direction." 14Players in other professional sports leagues, including the Women's NBA, Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer, have also gone on strike in protest of the Blake shooting. Many games have been postponed. 15Speaking to the Republican National Convention from Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence defended law enforcement. He did not directly note police violence against Floyd, Blake and other Black Americans. 16The vice president said, "The American people know we don't have to choose between supporting law enforcement and standing with African American neighbors to improve the quality of life in our cities and towns." 17Doc Rivers, who is Black, coaches the Los Angeles Clippers, an NBA team. He talked to reporters after his team played a game on Wednesday night. He said "just watching the Republican Convention... all of them talk about fear." 18"We're the ones getting killed. We're the ones getting shot. We're the ones denied to live in certain communities. We've been hung. We've been shot. And all you do is keep hearing about fear. It's amazing to me..." 19I'm Bryan Lynn. 20Hai Do wrote this story for Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. 21________________________________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23brutality - n. cruel, harsh and usually violent treatment of another person 24scene - n. the place of an incident or event 25drastic - adj. extreme in effect or action 26coach - n. a person who trains and teaches members of a sports team and makes decision about the team plays