Red Sox Will Not Play Vs. Blue Jays, After Jackie Bradley Jr. Decided To Sit Out
BOSTON (CBS) -- With no time to process the movement that took place on Wednesday afternoon and early evening, Jackie Bradley Jr. suited up and played for the Boston Red Sox. Having had a night with his thoughts, he reportedly decided to not play on Thursday night.
That's according to ESPN's Marly Rivera, who added that bit of context to Jeff Passan's report that the Red Sox were considering not playing their game vs. the Blue Jays in Buffalo.
The Boston Globe's Julian McWilliams confirmed that report, and several hours later, he reported that the Red Sox as a team decided not to play Thursday night's game.
McWilliams added that Bradley will be back in the lineup on Friday, when MLB celebrates Jackie Robinson Day.
In a joint statement released by the Red Sox and Blue Jays Thursday evening, the teams said the game would be postponed. "We look forward to getting back on the field, and using our strongest platform, our game, to amplify our message demanding meaningful change," the statement said.
The wave of protests across sports began with the Milwaukee Bucks refusing to take the court on Wednesday for their 4 p.m. playoff game vs. the Orlando Magic in the NBA's bubble. The rest of the NBA eventually followed suit, while WNBA and MLS games were canceled out of protest. Three MLB games were not played.
Bradley said he caught wind of cancellations as he was already taking the field for pregame stretching.
"Possibly. I'm not sure," Bradley said Wednesday night when asked if he or the team might boycotted the game. "Full support of it. Obviously, things are going to hit a lot closer location-wise and obviously it hits a lot closer African-American-wise as well. So there's feelings, there's a lot of things that go on and a lot of things that you think about."
The Blue Jays were in a similar position, and first baseman Rowdy Tellez said after the game that the team would have discussions on Thursday about potentially not playing.
Bradley, the Red Sox' only Black player, was one of two Red Sox players to take a knee during the national anthem on opening day.
"I think voices are being heard," Bradley said Wednesday. "Hopefully changes are being made and we just have to continue to grow and continue to push forward and try to be better as individuals and together as well."
