SLO sports radio host goes silent during show in support of pro athletes boycott

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- A Central Coast sports radio host has joined the recent boycott by professional athletes who are protesting the shooting earlier this week of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin.

On Wednesday night, CJ Silas went silent for the entire hour of her weekly CJ Silas Show on 1280 ESPN The Ticket.

"Yesterday, if you were driving around in your car and your radio, you heard silence," explained Silas. "Last night, it wasn't a time for me to talk. I wanted to do what I could for that moment."

Silas has worked in sports media for more than 25 years, and been a pioneer in the industry, working in several different positions across the country.

She is currently the host of her self-titled one-hour talk show that runs each Wednesday at 5 p.m. on the San Luis Obispo-based sports radio station.

This week, less than two hours before she went on the air, news broke regarding the Milwaukee Bucks sitting out their playoff game with the Orlando Magic.

The Bucks decided to boycott the game to show their support of Blake, who was shot by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, as well as bring attention to social injustice.

As several more professional sporting events were called off, Silas decided she too would join the protest.

"I thought what can I do?" said Silas. "How can I be in solidarity with all of my black brothers and sisters, in this country and sports all over the world?How can I show solidarity?"

Silas, with permission from station management, came up with the idea to spend the entire show in silence.

"I decided that in order for me to feel good about myself, and do something, and use my platform, that I wouldn't talk," said Silas. "I would also boycott and I would not have a radio show."

During the show, the only time she spoke was a statement she said every few minutes.

"I said, your radio is not broken. In solidarity with my black brothers and sisters, in sports and the world, there will not be a CJ Silas show tonight," Silas said.

While she was on the radio, at the same time, she was also broadcasting live on Facebook and Instagram.

During her live broadcasts on social media, Silas sat with a hand over her mouth, holding a sign that read, "Solidarity. Boycott. Black Lives Matter."

"It was important to me to just sit there in silence and just think about what's going on because what's going on has got to stop," said Silas. "We've got to stop the madness."

She believes she is the only sports radio host in the nation to join the boycott with a silent broadcast.

"I haven't heard of anyone doing it," said Silas. "I think the story is so provocative, of course, talk show hosts want to talk about it, but for me, being provocative didn't matter, but my heart space, and who I am, and what I believe in, from my years and years of having Jackie Robinson as my hero, for me, I needed to do more than yap about a story."

On Thursday, in the hours that followed her silent show, Silas said she's received reaction from both sides.

"I've had good reactions," said Silas. "I've had people on the street that have said thanks for that. I've got a reaction from a sports director in Virginia that wants to put me on his show. I have had a little bit of hate coming through the CJ Silas Show website, but you have to expect that because not everybody is ready to be part of the change."

Among those who are thrilled Silas used her platform to show support of the athlete's boycott is Cavin Stokes of San Luis Obispo.

"That's appreciated," said Stokes. "That shows me that obviously our movement is affecting people in a way that's positive and they want to be a part of it in whatever way, shape or form."

The San Luis Obispo High School graduate is a well-known local DJ and Black Lives Matter activist. He believes it's gestures like Silas' silent broadcast that can make a big difference.

He also said the professional athletes boycott is especially significant and can bring added awareness to social and racial concerns.

"One thing about America is that sports is a huge thing," said Stokes. "When we didn't' have sports forever, everybody was losing their mind, and now that they're back, they know they are in the limelight and that their voices have power."

Silas agreed, and noted how sports can be a powerful force affecting many different people.

"Sports is a communication line to the whole world," said Silas. "People watch sports together that have nothing else in common, and sometimes through sports, information is given to people that might not have otherwise found that information."

As she looks ahead to her next show on Sept. 2, Silas isnt' sure what it will look like, and more importantly, sound like.

"If next week on Wednesday and I feel it's something I want to do again, depending on what's going on in the sports landscape, of course I'm going to do it again," said Silas.