Pence’s Chief of Staff Criticizes NBA Boycott as “Absurd” and “Silly”

Marc Short, the Chief of Staff to Vice President Mike Pence, criticized NBA players who’ve opted not to play games as part of a protest against police brutality against Black Americans, calling the boycotts “absurd” and “silly.”

“I don’t know that you’re going to see the administration weigh in on that one way or the other. In my mind, it’s absurd, it’s silly,” Short told CNN’s Alisyn Camerota on “New Day” when asked if the vice president supports the boycott. 

“If they want to protest, I don’t think we care,” he added, noting that the administration shouldn’t speak out on the boycott “one way or the other.”

The NBA announced it would postpone Game 5 of three different playoff series (Bucks vs. Orlando Magic, Houston Rockets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Lakers vs. Portland Trail Blazers) in response to the shooting of Jacob Blake, who is currently paralyzed after he was shot in the back by police in Wisconsin.

The shooting ignited the latest round of protests against racial injustice and police brutality that have taken place since May, when George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, was killed by police officers in Minneapolis. 



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