NBA players end boycott and resume playoffs

National Basketball Association (NBA) players decided on Thursday to end their boycott of the professional league, which they initiated to protest against police brutality in the United States, and to continue with the playoffs for the championship.

According to several American media outlets, such as The Washington Post and CNN, which cited sources close to the players, normalcy has returned to the Orlando bubble after the postponement of the six games scheduled for Wednesday and those on Thursday.

Competition is expected to resume on Friday in order to fulfill the commitments made to the television networks, which will not pay the rights if the season is suspended.

After an initial meeting this morning between the players, the decision was to continue with the playoffs, while this afternoon there will be another meeting with the team owners and two basketball players per franchise.

During the meeting, the players will be informed that a season suspension would have serious economic repercussions within the NBA, which has spent 150 million dollars to set up the Orlando bubble and would also not receive television rights income, which is the only income they will have since there are no spectators at the games.

In addition, action plans that can address racial inequality and social injustice within the scope of the teams will also be presented at the meeting this afternoon.

The NBA players' "temporary boycott" was a protest against the incident last Sunday in the town of Kenosha, Wisconsin, where Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old black man, was shot seven times in the back as a police officer tried to detain him.

Blake was shot when he tried to enter the driver's side door of his vehicle, where three of his children were located.

The postponed games on Wednesday occurred on the fourth anniversary of quarterback Colin Kaepernick's first protest before a National Football League (NFL) preseason game.

Kaepernick, who knelt during the national anthem, said he did so to protest against racial inequality and police mistreatment of minorities.

The quarterback, who left the San Francisco 49ers that same season of 2016, has not played in the NFL since then.

Meanwhile, demanding social change and ending racial injustice has also been an important part of the NBA's restart in the Walt Disney World bubble.

The words "Black Lives Matter" were painted on the three courts used in the Wide World of Sports Complex where the games are played, and players wear warm-up jerseys with the same words before each game.

The team owners launched the NBA Foundation in partnership with the players' union, in which the 30 owners will collectively contribute a total of 30 million dollars per year for 10 years in initial funds to support racial equality and social justice within the black community.

In addition, coaches, players, and referees kneel in solidarity during the national anthem before the games begin.