GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) – Wednesday, fans were unable to watch either the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Playoffs or the Milwaukee Brewers. The games were postponed due to a boycott by the players in response to the police shooting of Jacob Blake.

At Chester’s Pub in Appleton, fans who would normally be watching either game were instead talking about the boycott.

“I just support the players and their decision to do what they think is right. Obviously as a fan I will miss watching the games, but hopefully they come back soon,” Chet Kurtz of Appleton said.

The Bucks refused to come out of their locker room Wednesday afternoon for Game 5 of their playoff. That sparked a movement across sports that postponed three NBA playoff games, three Major League Baseball games, three WNBA games, five Major League Soccer games to protest racial injustice.

It happened to be four years to the day after NFL player Colin Kapaernick first sat out the national anthem — before he started kneeling, at the suggestion of a Green Beret.

Professional athletes sent a message some fans who were part of the recent protesting in Appleton hope will elevate their cause.

“I understand there’s some things more important than sports occasionally — like people’s lives,” Amy Ongiri of Appleton said. “It was just a few years ago that Sterling Brown had a problem with the police, where he had a police brutality case, and so if that can happen to a member of the Bucks, the Bucks have to stand with the people that police brutality happens to.”

Harsher comments were found online, like, “I am done watching the Bucks. Basketball is a business,” and “Let professional sports die.”

Whether we could see more boycotts in the sports world remains to be seen. However, supporters of the effort are confident it’s making people think.

“They are faces to be seen, so with those faces to be seen, those voices will be heard,” Tim Ivory of Appleton said.

Ivory is also a local basketball coach.

“I hope they don’t get out of this silence, anger and being upset because their favorite athlete is not playing, their team is not playing. You won’t get to see the Brewers play tonight, you won’t see the Bucks play tonight. So what? There’s bigger things gong on in the word right now,” Ivory said.

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