Betts: 'No matter what, I wasn't going to play tonight'

The Los Angeles Dodgers' Wednesday contest against the San Francisco Giants became the night's third postponed MLB game as player protests originating in the NBA continue to swell, stemming from the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin.

The Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds decided to postpone their game hours before the Dodgers and Giants' scheduled start, and both clubs seemed to mull their options before the players officially chose not to play. However, for Mookie Betts, the decision was easy.

"No matter what, I wasn't going to play," Betts said, according to Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times. "There's a world of change that needs to be made," the outfielder added, continuing that he wanted to use his platform "to at least get the ball rolling."

Some full games were mutually delayed, with both teams agreeing not to take part. Although several Black players chose not to participate in other cases - namely, Chicago Cubs outfielder Jason Heyward, Colorado Rockies veteran Matt Kemp, and St. Louis Cardinals' Dexter Fowler and Jack Flaherty - their teams still went forward with their matchups.

"I know, for me," Betts continued, according to J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group, "I was already tight with everyone in the clubhouse ... but now that everyone has my back, more than I already thought, means a lot. I'll always remember this day, and I'll always remember this team having my back. This organization has been amazing."

The movement began with the Milwaukee Bucks and quickly spread across the NBA, resulting in the league postponing all of Wednesday's games.