A strong majority of Americans support the NBA players boycott of the playoff games to protest the caught-on-camera police shooting of Jacob Blake, a new survey showed Thursday.
The YouGov poll of 7,425 Americans found 45% “strongly support” the players, with another 12% who said they “somewhat support them.”
The poll showed 21% “strongly oppose” the job action, while 7% “somewhat oppose” the move.
Overall, the numbers show Americans’ support of the the players’ job action beats out opposition by a more than 2-to-1 margin, 57-28, the survey showed.
The Milwaukee Bucks led the boycott Wednesday in the wake of the shooting in Kenosha, Wis., of Blake, a Black man who was hit with several bullets in the back as he leaned into the vehicle where his three children were seated.
After the Bucks refused to come out for their playoff game against the Orlando Magic, the Magic and four other teams also sat out games that day.
On Friday, the NBA announced it would resume competition on Saturday.
Blake’s shooting took place less than 50 miles away from the Bucks’ home base.
After the Bucks’ protest, the team was on a conference call with Wisconsin’s lieutenant governor and attorney general to talk about police reform legislation, ESPN reported.
President Donald Trump has been sharply critical of the NBA, and when asked about the players’ boycott Thursday, took a shot at the league instead.
“I know their ratings have been very bad, and that’s unfortunate,” Trump said. “They’ve become like a political organization, and that’s not a good thing. I don’t think that’s a good thing for sports or for the country.”
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