Marquette University’s men’s basketball team wore black uniforms Tuesday evening in solidarity with Jacob Blake, a Black man shot by a Kenosha, Wis., police officer, after a prosecutor announced the officer would not be charged in the case.
“We are extremely disappointed in the decision involving Jacob’s shooting and we will continue to use our platform to advocate and fight for racial justice,” the team said in a statement. “This is another reminder that just because racial and social injustice hasn’t received as much attention recently, doesn’t mean the need to fight against it has gone away.”
Kenosha Officer Rusten Sheskey shot at Blake several times on Aug. 23 as Blake leaned into an SUV, seriously injuring him. Three of Blake’s children were in the vehicle at the time. The shooting, which came about three months after the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, was followed by several nights of unrest in Kenosha and the shooting of three people by Kyle Rittenhouse, an Illinois teen who crossed state lines and has claimed he acted in self-defense. The Black shooting also prompted a brief strike by several professional sports teams, including the Milwaukee Bucks.
Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley announced Tuesday that Sheskey would not be charged in connection with the shooting.
Police were responding to a domestic 911 call at the time and were informed there was a “wanted” alert for a person on the premises. Sheskey claimed Blake had a knife in his hand, while lawyers for Blake have denied he was holding the knife.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) condemned the decision, saying Blake’s children “witnessed violence no kid should ever see, experienced trauma no kid should ever endure, all while the world watched.”
“And yet, when presented the opportunity to rise to this moment and this movement and take action to provide meaningful, commonsense reform to enhance accountability and promote transparency in policing in our state, elected officials took no action,” he added.