Wednesday night, the Atlanta United match against Inter Miami was postponed as players from both teams came to a collective agreement not to play the match. The decision was made to draw attention to the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin and broader social injustice, and was spurred by the Milwaukee Bucks’ boycott of their NBA Playoff game against the Orlando Magic. The Bucks’ decision set off a domino effect in the sports world as the remainder of Wednesday’s NBA and WNBA players called off their Wednesday night matches, along with three MLB games and four other MLS matches.
Thursday afternoon, Jeff Larentowicz spoke with the media to further address the postponement of the match, how the decision was made, and what it meant to the team.
“It all came together organically. Before our team meeting at 5:45 pm, I turned on ESPN and saw what was happening with the NBA. That’s when I first became aware of it. There were texts coming from players all over the league. The discussions started through those text channels,” Larentowicz said about how the decision came about. “Brad [Guzan] and I met with [Inter Miami CF player] Luis Robles before warm-ups to see where they stood, what information they had gathered from around the league, and seeing what was happening with Orlando and Nashville. Brad was preparing, the team was preparing, I was gathering information, and we spoke with Luis and made the decision to not go forward with the game once warm-ups ended.”
The club issued the following statement after the decision was made:
“It was a human decision. A decision that we felt we needed to make. It was bigger than the two clubs down in Fort Lauderdale, bigger than one or two decision makers. It was an acknowledgement of human emotions. Before we are athletes, we’re humans who needed to acknowledge each other and support each other. It was bigger than our two locker rooms and support of each other was more important,” Larentowicz stated about the meaning behind the decision. “I don’t think anyone thought not playing the game was going to solve anything, but it bolstered the support. We can build this into tackling bigger issues.”
Players across the league chose to peacefully protest against the racial and social injustices, moving forward with the understanding that the discussion is not over and bringing to light the issues of inequality and systemic racism. Atlanta United stands behind the players and will amplify their voices in the fight for equality.
