Champ, Finau support NBA players' choice not to play games

Cameron Champ and Tony Finau voiced their support for NBA players choosing not to play games to protest the police shooting of Jacob Blake, even though the PGA Tour carried on with Thursday's round of the BMW Championship.

"I definitely thought about it for sure," Champ said about the possibility of following the NBA's lead and not playing this week's tournament. "But obviously I feel like I can do a lot more playing, and again, showing my support and expressing myself."

Champ wore one black and one white shoe during Thursday's opening round. On them, he wrote "Papa Champ" for his late grandfather, who was Black. Champ also penned "Black Lives Matter" and the names of two victims of police violence - Jacob Blake and Breonna Taylor - on his shoes.

"I think that's great for the NBA. I mean, all the guys sticking together," Champ continued. He added, "To see them come together and talk about it and obviously they ended up they're going to continue the season, but just to boycott their last few games, again, I think that's a huge step in all of sports."

Finau, who is cousins with Sacramento Kings forward Jabari Parker, echoed Champ's support of the NBA players but never thought about skipping this week's tournament.

"No, it didn't really cross my mind, but I understood the magnitude of what the NBA was doing and what they were boycotting for," Finau said.

"I know the PGA Tour is in full support of that, and again, it's a conversation that's uncomfortable, sensitive for our country, but if we're not willing to have those, I don't think we can move forward as a country. I'm open to having a conversation with anybody on the issue, and again, I think we're in full support of what the NBA has done," he continued.

Tiger Woods briefly touched on the subject following his first round. After he spoke with commissioner Jay Monahan, who issued a statement addressing social injustice and racial inequality, Woods said the players "we're all on board" with playing the event.