“We are proud of WNBA players’ engagement and passionate advocacy for non-violent solutions to hard social issues but expect them to comply with the league’s uniform guidelines”, WNBA President Lisa Borders told the Associated Press.
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In the aftermath of an incident which saw multiple WNBA teams and players draw fines over their decision to protest recent American political events, the league now heads into a month-long break, which will be used to “work with our players and their union on ways for the players to make their views known…”
Earlier in the week, the WNBA announced fines for the Indiana Fever, New York Liberty, Washington Mystics and their players for wearing black shirts during warm-ups following the tragic shooting events both by and against police officers in Falcon Heights, Minnesota; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and Dallas.
Each team was fined $5,000 and players were each given a $500 penalty because WNBA rules stated that uniforms may not be altered in any way.
We are pleased that the WNBA has made the decision to rescind the fines the league handed down to the players on the Fever, Liberty and Mercury.
The Women’s National Basketball Association said it is rescinding fines imposed on players who violated league uniform rules in expressing support for the “black lives matter” movement. “We need change and we have a platform to speak”. “They just wore black shirts and for that they were each fined”.
Jackson said the union’s legal team is looking into what it can do about the fines, which she called excessive. She said the union proposed letting the players have a limited time to express their opinions on the court.
Sharpton added that the ruling was “unacceptable” – leading to a potential rally for the fined players. The players said they were there not to answer any basketball-related questions but to speak only on the issue of Black Lives Matter. “I really do”, he said, citing the former UConn player and Liberty star for wearing her warmup shirt inside-out before Thursday’s game.
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The league was still undecided on whether Charles would be fined. “I’m sure it’ll come up, and we’ll have to deal with it”.
