The Liberty heard no such backlash after they wore their shirts a day later. This prompted the WNBA to send a memo to teams, warning them that violations of the official uniform policy could result in fines.
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Kelsey Bone of the Phoenix Mercury wasn’t pleased with the fines either, stating a majority of the league includes black athletes.
WNBA President Lisa Borders said: “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’.
The memo reiterated that only league-issued clothes may be worn, and they can not be altered.
Phoenix Mercury players Mistie Bass and Kelsey Bone, who were fined, expressed their frustration on Twitter.
These are the t-shirts which were worn by WNBA players.
The teams wore the #BlackLivesMatter shirts following the deaths of two men and five police officers on 7 July. “And of course, we stand united in supporting Black Lives Matter”. “Because the whole point of the shirts, I know specifically what Minnesota was wearing, was that ‘Change Starts With Us.’ Meaning that us athletes, we have a platform we can use and we definitely want to lend our voice and know that it affects us too”.
The Lynx players said they will try to find another way to address the shootings, while the Liberty players said they were willing to compromise and wear black shirts with the Adidas logo.
It is not clear why Lynx players were not fined.
The Liberty did remove the slogans from their warmups, and instead wore plain black shirts that featured nothing but a small Adidas logo.
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Liberty center Tina Charles posted pictures of her and her team-mates in the black t-shirts on Instagram after a game at Madison Square Garden on July 10. Honored to be in the Garden in the presence of greatness!’
