Milwaukee Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer addresses police gunfire in Kenosha

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1:40 p.m. ET

  • Eric WoodyardESPN

As the Milwaukee Bucks gear up for Game 4 of their first-round playoff series against Orlando, coach Mike Budenholzer addressed a situation over 1,000 miles from the NBA bubble, where protests erupted in Wisconsin in the following the shooting by police of a black man identified as Jacob. Blake

“Much like sending my thoughts and prayers to Jacob Blake and his family, another young black man shot dead by a police officer,” Budenholzer said. “We need change. We need to be better. And I hope for the best for him and his family. I hope for the best as we work through this in Wisconsin and Milwaukee and Kenosha. So thoughts and prayers for Jacob Blake. “

The Bucks released a statement regarding the shooting on Monday.

Blake was hospitalized in serious condition. The incident happened Sunday night in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Police responding to a domestic disturbance shot Blake in the back seven times as he tried to get into his vehicle. The incident was captured on social media and recently shared by his lawyer, Ben Crump.

Budenholzer said he chose not to watch the graphic video, but read about it and engaged in in-depth conversations about it. He sees it as yet another reason to push for social justice when the NBA reboots.

“It’s in the minds of our players, it’s in the minds of our coaches, it’s in the minds of our staff and our organization,” said Budenholzer.

“We have a playoff game which is very important to us, but an incident like this is more important than anything we do in Orlando. And I think there was a lot of talk before we got here on the so we need to keep this conversation going. We need to be better as a country, stop having such incidents and understand that black lives matter. “

The officers involved have been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.

“While we don’t have all the details yet,” Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said in a statement, “what we do know for sure is that he isn’t the first black man or person. to have been shot, wounded or killed mercilessly at the hands of law enforcement officials in our state or country. “



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