WNBA Supports “Black Lives Matter”
Several WNBA teams wore t-shirts in solidarity with the “Black Lives Matter” movement in 2016. Shirts worn by players on the Minnesota Lynx displayed the names of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, two African-American men who were killed by police. Other teams followed suit. Some players even refused to answer questions that weren’t related to police brutality or racial inequality.
An up close look at the warm-up shirts #LosLynx are wearing to honor #AltonSterling #PhilandoCastile & #DallasPD pic.twitter.com/veqoGXP4VZ
— Minnesota Lynx (@minnesotalynx) July 9, 2016
The WNBA opted to fine the players who violated uniform code, but backed off after the players started wearing plain black Adidas t-shirts to stay in compliance with the rules.
“We’re allowed to wear whatever we want to the games, to and from the games,” Mystics guard Natasha Cloud told USA Today. “So if they’re going to take away our right and our voice to advocate for something so important to 70 percent of the league which is African-American, we’ll find other ways to do it and other ways to do it.”
