After the deadly shootings of Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, and five Dallas police officers, players in the WNBA chose to take a stand by wearing all black in protest. It’s also troubling that Borders is a Black woman, but nevertheless imposed the fines, which were $500 per player and $5,000 per team, and pinned to not following uniform guidelines.
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“All of us at the WNBA have the utmost respect and appreciation for our players expressing themselves on matters important to them”, WNBA President Lisa Borders said in a statement. By boycotting their opinions on the game, it made the league look uncomfortable until this decision.
‘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. On the back were written the names Philando Castile and Alton Sterling, both fatally shot by police officers this month, followed by “Black Lives Matter”. Numerous teams affected used their post-game interview sessions to continue to speak on the importance of the Black Lives Matter Movement and their displeasure with police brutality. But the fines weren’t enough to stop players. The players wore black warm-up shirts that read “Change Starts With Us: Justice & Accountability” on the front.
The NBA didn’t fine players who similarly protested the shooting of Trayvon Martin, a fact that Knicks player Carmelo Anthony pointed out to the New York Post. “I really do”, he said, citing the former UConn player and Liberty star for wearing her warmup shirt inside-out before Thursday’s game.
“I would tell you in reflection, recognizing that we were at an impasse, we needed to move forward in the future”, she said Monday in a phone interview with The Associated Press. We had a traditional response to a nontraditional situation.
The Rev. Al Sharpton said earlier Saturday his organization, the National Action Network, would pay the $500 fines. Right now the players have a very strong stance in what they believe in right now. We were able to show our voice.
“When people say black lives matter”, explained Charles, “we aren’t saying that not all lives matter, but we are saying that black lives matter too”.
We were making every effort to engage our players.
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‘Our players are important to us. We want to make sure they play well on the court and they are happy off the court.
