The New York Mets and the Miami Marlins walked off of the field in protest over racial injustice after 42 seconds of silence ahead of Thursday’s planned game.
As the teams took their places on the field at the start of the game Thursday night, the players stopped for 42 seconds of silence, likely in honor of the league’s first Black player, Jackie Robinson.
Major League Baseball is set to observe Jackie Robinson Day on Friday, according to CNN.
The teams left a shirt reading “Black Lives Matter” at home plate as the players exited the field.
The Thursday move comes after a wave of protests among professional baseball teams this week. The Milwaukee Brewers, Cincinnati Reds, Seattle Mariners, San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants all opted not to play after the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks protested playing over the shooting of Jacob Blake earlier this week, Yahoo News reported.
Games featuring over a dozen professional teams have been postponed due to player protests, according to the outlet.
The Mets’ Dominic Smith gave an emotional statement to reporters Wednesday in the wake of Blake’s shooting, saying, “I think the most difficult part is to see people still don’t care. For this to just continuously happen, it just shows the hate in people’s heart. That just sucks, you know? Black men in America, it’s not easy. Like I said, I just wasn’t there today, but I’ll bounce back, I’ll be fine.”
The move was expected after Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen said in a leaked video Thursday that the players did not want to play, according to multiple reports.
Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, was shot seven times by a Kenosha, Wis., police officer on Sunday while leaning into his vehicle. His family has said that he is at least temporarily paralyzed from the waist down.
The shooting launched a slate of protests across the sports world, including in the NBA, the NFL and more.