WNBA Players Fight For Their Right To Speak Out
- By Shorty
- Jul 26, 2016
- 2 min read
About two weeks ago, I wrote an article on how WNBA players were using their platforms to speak out on social issues. During the recent shootings that took the lives of two unarmed black men and five police officers of the Dallas PD, players from the Minnesota Lynx and the New York Liberty decided to their support by wearing black warm-ups with a message that said "Change Starts With Us, Justice and Accountability" and on the back were the names of Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, the Dallas PD symbol, and Black Lives Matter (Minnesota Lynx). The New York Liberty warm-ups showed two hashtags that said #BlackLivesMatter and #DallasFive. The Indiana Fever, Phoenix Mercury, and the Dallas Wings joined in the fray to let their voices to be heard on the subject matter. However, three out of the five teams were fined by the WNBA for violating the league's uniform policy.
The news hit social media like a shock wave with fans and players voicing their disappointment with the league's ruling.
Apparently, after the Lynx and Liberty made their statements, the WNBA officials sent out a memo to the players and the player's union notifying them to comply with the uniform policy. The players did ask league officials if alternate warm-ups could be issued so that they could continue to take a stand. The league however, did not respond to their request. It prompted the players to not necessarily protest against the WNBA, but to urge them to understand what they were fighting for. Considering the league has proudly supported other initiatives, the question is what makes this initiative any different from the rest?
The fact that 70% of the players in the league make up of African-American women who felt strongly about wanting to speak out on a subject that effects their livelihood, the W found themselves facing a lot of backlash from the public. Not only from it's players and fans, but also Carmelo Anthony who made a statement on the fines that were issued.
As well as continuing to speak out during every post game interview staging a "media blackout".
Reverend Al Sharpton and his organization, the National Action Network were set to pay the fines before the league had a change of heart and quickly rescinded the fines that were given out.
Overall, I am personally proud of the players for standing up for what they believe in. It's understandable that the WNBA had to walk a fine line between it's players and their contract agreement with Adidas. I think the issue would've been a non-issue if the league were willing to create t-shirts that allowed the players to express what they were feeling without breaking protocol. Hopefully this situation will bring more open discussion about social activism in the future.
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