Oakland Athletics postpone Thursday’s game in wake of Jacob Blake shooting

The Oakland Athletics have opted to postpone Thursday’s game against the Texas Rangers.

The Oakland Athletics were scheduled to play the final game of a four-game series against the Texas Rangers later today at around 3:30 p.m. PT. However, that ultimately will not be happening.

The A’s took to Twitter shortly prior to their scheduled game to announce that they would not be taking the field today. And as such, their game against the Rangers has been postponed.

In a statement released by the team through its players, the A’s said that  they “will not take the field tonight to help raise awareness for these social issues, not just tonight, but for our collective future.”

The full statement from the team can be found below.

This comes in the wake of the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin this past Sunday. Teams from around the sports world have since canceled practices, postponed games, and taken this opportunity to share their thoughts on the situation.

Just last night, a few MLB games were canceled including the A’s Bay Area rivals, the SF Giants‘ scheduled game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Despite some pre-game discussion, the A’s did opt to play their game against the Rangers yesterday, a 3-1 victory over their division foes.

The Oakland Athletics are postponing Thursday’s game after playing yesterday.

Per manager Bob Melvin and shortstop Marcus Semien, that decision was primarily made because there wasn’t enough time to get a complete consensus and discuss everything prior to the first pitch.

Melvin told reporters that he insisted that any player who didn’t feel comfortable playing yesterday could sit out. And following that game, the team, as a whole, agreed to postpone Thursday’s scheduled matchup.

The Rangers honored Oakland’s decision releasing the following statement.

Thursday’s game is expected to be made up as part of a double-header on September 12th. And for now, the attention will turn to when the A’s return to the diamond.

Melvin was noncommital on their status for Friday’s game against the Houston Astros stating that they were going to “talk about it more as a group.”

The A’s currently sit in first place in the AL West with a 22-10 record. But obviously, that’s taken a back seat given the ongoing social unrest around the country.

It remains to be seen when the A’s return to the field again. But for now, they’re making their voices heard and taking a stand.