Toronto Blue Jays game with Red Sox postponed to protest racial injustice

The Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox are following the rest of the sports world as they will not play as a form of protest for social injustice.

There won’t be baseball played in Buffalo Thursday evening as the game between the Toronto Blue Jays and Boston was postponed after the Red Sox decided not to play to protest against the shooting of Jacob Blake.

Several teams around MLB have decided to sit out following the lead of what the NBA and WNBA started Wednesday. The NBA also postponed Thursday’s slate of playoff games including Game 1 between the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics. 

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According to Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi, the Blue Jays collectively decided they would play the game but also respected the Red Sox choice.  It also appears that torrential weather would have impacted the game too, but the decision to postpone the game doesn’t appear to be related.

There has not been a determination of when the game could be made up but considering the Blue Jays have an upcoming series at Fenway Park, it would make sense that a double-header would take place. At the same time, that appears to be far from the priority among the players and league as they mentioned in their statement Wednesday night. 

"“The pain in the communities of Wisconsin and beyond following the shooting of Jacob Blake, we respect the decisions of a number of players not to play tonight. Major League Baseball remains united for change in our society and we will be allies in the fight to end racism and injustice.”"

According to the Boston Globe, Red Sox centre-fielder Jackie Bradley Jr., was one of the players who brought up the idea of protesting and will be back in the lineup for Jackie Robinson Day.

Earlier in the day, Blue Jays general manager mentioned that the team needs to use its platform to support players as they try to use their voice to enact change. Members of the team kneeled during the anthems prior to the season opener against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old unarmed Black man, was shot in the back seven times by officers on Sunday. His father told the Chicago Sun-Times that Blake is paralyzed from the waist down.