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NBA 2K online play halted during George Floyd's memorial service

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2K stops online play to support Black Lives Matter (0:26)

NBA 2K paused online play for two hours Thursday and provided players with free "Black Lives Matter" and "I Can't Breathe" shirts for their avatars in honor of George Floyd. (0:26)

The publisher of NBA 2K paused all online game activity for two hours Thursday in recognition of George Floyd's memorial service.

2K halted online play from 2-4 p.m. ET while a service was ongoing in Minneapolis, where Floyd died while in police custody on Memorial Day.

The Neighborhood, a game mode where players can roam freely and interact with other players, remained open. Players had access to "Black Lives Matter" and "I Can't Breathe" T-shirts for their video game avatars to wear.

"We continue to be inspired and heartened by our community members' creativity in expressing themselves during difficult times," 2K said in a statement to ESPN. "As such, we wanted to offer the Neighborhood as a space to gather and connect for those who found it a meaningful and helpful outlet."

On Wednesday, 2K announced plans and financial contributions to the fight against racism.

"This week we muted our channel out of respect for what's going on in the world," the company said on Twitter. "We are increasing funding for our 2K foundations program by an additional $1M and expanding its mission to help fight racial injustice and inequalities in black communities across the globe. Black Lives Matter."