The reigning WNBA Coach of the Year said there would be more outrage 'if Jacob Blake was a dog' in an emotional interview before the players' strike

• Reigning WNBA Coach of the Year, James Wade, had an emotional conversation with members of the press prior to WNBA players' decision to boycott games in protest of police violence.
• Wade — a 45-year-old Black man and head coach of the Chicago Sky — said players "are actually speaking for someone like me," by striking.
• "If Jacob Blake was a dog, and the police were to shoot him seven times in the same spot, we would have a lot more people up in arms," Wade said Wednesday. "So what does that tell you about my value?"

Chicago Sky head coach James Wade says he knows "how valued my voice is in society — especially this society."

Prior to WNBA players' decision Wednesday to boycott games in protest of police violence, the 2019 WNBA Coach of the Year had an emotional conversation with members of the press about his experiences as a Black man in America and his vantage point on the current social unrest over the police shooting of Jacob Blake.

"If Jacob Blake was a dog, and the police were to shoot him seven times in the same spot, we would have a lot more people up in arms," Wade said on a Zoom call with the media Wednesday. "So what does that tell you about my value?"

Wade's powerful words — and NBA, WNBA, and MLS players' decisions to strike — come after protests erupted around the country in light of Sunday's police shooting of Blake, a Black man whom Kenosha, Wisconsin, officers shot in front of his three children. Blake survived and is in stable condition despite taking seven bullets to the back, but the 29-year-old is now paralyzed from the waist down.

"When you get away from George Floyd, you get away from Breonna Taylor, the sting is always going to be there," Wade said. "Those wounds are always going to be there. And Jacob Blake just reopened those wounds even more."

"Nothing justifies getting shot in the back seven times," Wade added. "Nothing."

At the time of Wade's interview, players from NBA teams scheduled to play Wednesday afternoon and evening had already decided not to compete, but WNBA players still had not made their own decision to halt play. When asked if he would support his players if they chose to boycott, the 45 year old acknowledged that "they're actually speaking for me."

"I'm in support of whatever the players want to do," Wade said. "I can't not support what they decide to do because they're actually speaking for someone like me."

Though players across the WNBA initially intended to forge on with Wednesday's slate even after the NBA's players forced the cancelation of their own games, Washington Mystics players could not bring themselves to play and ultimately relented. After the Mystics disclosed their decision, players on the league's five other teams scheduled to compete on Wednesday night chose to follow suit.

In response to continued discussions surrounding social justice initiatives, WNBA players chose not to participate in Thursday's games as well. It remains unclear when the league will return to action, but WNBPA President and Los Angeles Sparks star Nneka Ogwumike reiterated Thrusday that "we feel as a group we want to play."

Check out Wade's full comments from his Wednesday evening media availability below:

—Chicago Sky (@chicagosky) August 27, 2020

• Read more:
• The WNBA's Washington Mystics wore shirts with bullet holes while leading the league to strike for Jacob Blake
• WNBA players joined together for a candlelight vigil after canceled games, and commissioner Cathy Engelbert said the league would 'support you in every way we can'
• WNBA players have forced the league to postpone Wednesday night's games: 'We stand in solidarity with our brothers in the NBA' against police brutality
• Naomi Osaka was 2 matches away from winning a tournament but dropped out at the last minute in protest of police violence