Yahoo Finance Marquette wears black uniforms, kneels to support Jacob Blake after no charges filed against officer
Marquette came together to support Jacob Blake ahead of their matchup with UConn on Tuesday night, just hours after a Wisconsin prosecutor announced that he wouldn’t pursue charges for the officer that shot Blake multiple times in the back last summer.
The Golden Eagles opted to wear special black uniforms for the game at Fiserv Forum, and all took a unified knee on the court ahead of the game while wearing special “Black Lives Matter” shirts.
Tonight, Marquette is wearing black uniforms in support of Jacob Blake, his family and the Kenosha community. pic.twitter.com/sToPWgS4yN
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) January 6, 2021
“We are extremely disappointed in the decision involving Jacob’s shooting and we will continue to use our platform to advocate and fight for racial justice,” the team said in a statement before the game, in part. “This is another reminder that just because racial and social justice hasn’t received as much attention recently, doesn’t mean the need to fight against it has gone away.”
Retired Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade, who went to Marquette before jumping to the NBA, was all about the gestures.
We Are Marquette✊🏾 @MarquetteMBB https://t.co/BxlKiv80am
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) January 6, 2021
Marquette, Bucks speak out after no charges in Jacob Blake shooting
A Wisconsin prosecutor said Tuesday that they will not pursue criminal charges against Kenosha, Wisconsin, police officer Rusten Sheskey.
Sheskey, who is white, shot Blake, a Black man, multiple times in the back in August. The shooting left Blake paralyzed and sparked widespread outrage and protests both in Kenosha and elsewhere across the country.
Kyle Rittenhouse, an 18-year-old from Illinois, shot and killed two people during those protests in Kenosha. He pleaded not guilty to six criminal charges stemming from that incident on Tuesday.
The shooting caused massive protests in the sports world, too. The Milwaukee Bucks — who, along with Marquette, sit just 40 miles north of Kenosha — refused to take the court for a playoff game shortly after the shooting, which led to similar walkouts and strikes across the league, the WNBA, MLB and more.
The Bucks issued a statement about the decision on Tuesday, too, though didn’t specifically mention Kenosha or Blake.
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) January 6, 2021
“This past year shed light on the ongoing racial injustices facing our African American and other marginalized communities,” the statement read, in part. “Reoccurring instances of excessive use of force and immediate escalation when engaging the Black community must stop. We will continue to work to enact policy changes so these incidents no longer exist.”
More from Yahoo Sports:
