“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 Saturday just two days after she approved the penalties.
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It had been a tense week for the WNBA and its players after the league made a decision to impose $500 fines on three teams for wearing the black warmup shirts in response to recent shootings by and against police officers, saying the shirts were a uniform violation.
Each team who participated in the protest, was fined $5,000 and players were given a $500 penalty because WNBA rules state that uniforms may not be altered in any way, according to USA Today.
Following a wave of criticism against players being fined for wearing black shirts, the WNBA has retracted the fines against players and the New York Liberty, Indiana Fever, and Phoenix Mercury.
With many WNBA players continuing their support of the Black Lives Matter movement, league president Lisa Borders is finally speaking out on the situation. National Basketball Association players have made other protest fashion statements, with no repercussions from the league.
Evans pointed out that LeBron James and Derrick Rose wore “I Can’t Breathe” T-shirts during warm-ups in honor of Eric Garner in 2014 and that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said that “he supports the players for their personal views but prefers they’d adhere to on-court attire rules”. We want them to be the people they are and we’re proud of them. The T-shirts, which read “change starts with us: justice and accountability” on the front, also named of Alton and Philando, as well as the logo for the Dallas police department, in commemoration of the five police officers who were shot during a peaceful Black Lives Matter protest in Texas. Meanwhile, each player received a $500 fine. The hefty penalty the players received for wearing the shirts was $300 more than the normal $200 fine.
“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. Seattle and Minnesota players tweeted out pictures of their teams wearing black shirts featuring a Martin Luther King Jr. quote before their game. Since the shirts were worn on 4 separate occasions, the organizations have each been fined $5000.
See photos of WNBA players refusing to be silences on the following pages.
‘We were making every effort to engage our players, ‘ she said. “Rescinding the fines allowed us to do that, along with the Olympic break”. US coach Geno Auriemma said he was proud of their social activism. “I’m really proud of some of my former players and the way they’ve stepped forward and spoken their conscience and express their feelings”.
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Charles was happy that the league rescinded the fines.
