The 2020 NBA Bubble was an absolute storm of media coverage. With nearly 400 professional athletes living in close quarters, it’s no surprise that there was a new story every other day. While it was funny watching Rajon Rondo complain about his food or Lou Williams escaping the bubble and mysteriously ending up at a strip club, the bubble also set the stage for the biggest wildcat strike in sports history.
A wildcat strike is a work stoppage that is not authorized by the workers’ labor union. This kind of strike happens quickly and in secrecy, so as to not alert any authorities or representatives from the labor union. Wildcat strikes are effective because they are a form of action that occurs outside of the typical bureaucratic function of a labor union.
On August 23rd, 2020, Jacob Blake was shot seven times in the back and killed by a police officer in Kenosha County, Wisconsin. Blake’s murder spurred on a wave of civil unrest in Wisconsin. As protestors clashed with police, the Milwaukee Bucks watched on from the NBA Bubble, 1,065 miles away from their home court, wondering what they could do to help the cause.
Just one hour before their scheduled game before the Orlando Magic, the team refused to exit their locker room. Minutes before the game was scheduled to start, the Magic followed suit and walked off the court. Word began to spread, and the Clippers and Lakers, the NBA’s top two teams at the time, followed suit and refused to play that night. After this, play was paused as players began meeting to discuss strategy. At times, they considered extending the strike and cancelling the season outright, but the NBA managed to strike a deal with the players for them to come back and resume play just 3 days after the initial strike.
This was a moment when NBA players demonstrated their collective power to the league. They wanted to see change both in and out of the league, and they leveraged their powers as the laborers that make the league functional to do it. While it was a short strike, it was a powerful demonstration of what collective action can do, and a reminder to the league that the players have the power, not executives.