WNBA President Lisa Borders said in a statement Saturday the league was rescinding penalties given to the Indiana Fever, New York Liberty, Phoenix Mercury and their players for wearing the shirts – which was a uniform violation. The players donned the shirts to show solidarity after the shooting deaths of Philando Castile in Minnesota and Alton Sterling in Louisiana, reports the Associated Press. The players wore black warm-up shirts that read “Change Starts With Us: Justice & Accountability” on the front.
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Since it was a violation of the league dress code, players and teams were fined for the protests- and that hasn’t gone well in the public purview. League president Lisa Borders commended the move but did not condone noncompliance.
Players spoke out against the fines in post-game interviews and on social media, notes ESPN.
“We were okay with that, we wanted to support that, but also they can’t pick and choose what initiatives to support and what not to support just because it doesn’t push their agenda”, Liberty guard Tanisha Wright told The New York Times. They’re truly incredible, thoughtful and talented individuals’. “Our league, our partners and our society are better because of our players’ willingness to enter the political and social activism arena”.
The WNBA is yet another group of influencers in the sports world to take a stand. Carmelo, Dwyane Wade, and Lebron James followed behind the women by publicly speaking out during the 2016 ESPYS.
Charles was happy that the league rescinded the fines. She donated her entire salary this year to her charity – Hopey’s Heart Foundation – so the withdrawn fine means more money that will help buy automated external defibrillators.
Not only is the revocation of the fines a win for the players of the WNBA, but it’s a major step forward in negotiating opportunities for women to express their views in a peaceful, public way.
‘When we take off our jerseys and we are out there, we could be next. People responding to me said you gained a fan, not because of what I do on the court, but the act I did.
“We all have fathers, uncles, brothers, cousins, everybody who can be in this situation”.
Borders also tweeted her support for the players.
“It’s been a lot disappointing that the WNBA hasn’t supported [BLM]”, she said. We did it. The NBA did it. The NBA was very supportive. Now the players feel they can really focus on the Olympics knowing they have support from the league they are a part of.
“Our players are important to us”. We believe in them. They say that it’s wonderful that someone can understand the emotions of people living in the sensitive era that we do.
The star player told the website that it’s “tough” because all the players “have a voice” and they want to be heard.
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‘We’re sick and exhausted of waking up every morning and seeing something like this (shootings) happen, ‘ Mystics player Ivory Latta said after her team played its final game before the Olympic break.
