The warm-up shirts read, “Change Starts with Us – Justice & Accountability”. On the back were the names of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling, as well as the Dallas police shield and the words “Black Lives Matter”. “I commend them for it”, Kroll said.
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The Washington Post says the Minneapolis Police Federation praised the officers for leaving the game, noting they won’t work any more games.
At this point it bears noting that the four police officers were off-duty and were working as private contractors with the Target Center; they did not walk off of their jobs as police. Over the weekend, 27 police officers were injured (one with a broken vertebra) after a Black Lives Matter protest in St. Paul turned violent.
Swin Cash and other Liberty players wore similar shirts Sunday with hashtags #BlackLivesMatter and #Dallas5. That led to a riot, whereas Saturday’s walkout led to a slightly understaffed WNBA game, but police walking out on their jobs because someone has the audacity to ask that they be held accountable or that they treat everyone equally can only lead to bad news. “The divide is way too big between our community and those who have vowed to protect and serve us”.
The four cops who left have taken their names off a list of officers who may work future games.
Kroll criticized players for supporting “false narratives”, according to Furst, and for jumping to conclusions before all of the facts of the cases are known.
Police Chief Janeé Harteau issued a separate statement obtained by the newspaper that states, “Although these officers were working on behalf of the Lynx, when wearing a Minneapolis Police uniform I expect all officers to adhere to our core values and to honor their oath of office”. It’s tragic that a sniper had targeted officers in Dallas, which has improved its de-escalation training efforts, resulting in fewer shootings by police, she added.
“Racism and unjust phobic fear of black males and disregard of black females is very real”, Lynx player Rebekkah Brunson said. Senseless violence is a problem.
Saturday’s Lynx game against the Dallas Wings drew 7,613 fans.
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“In the wake of the tragedies that have continued to plague our society, we have decided it’s important to take a stand and raise our voices”, Brunson added on.
