WNBA Teams & Players Fined For Breaking Uniform Guidelines With Black T-Shirts Protesting Violence

WNBA Teams & Players Fined

Three WNBA teams and their players have been fined for wearing t-shirts in protest of the recent police shootings of Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, and the killing of five Dallas police officers.

The Minnesota Lynx kicked it off by wearing black t-shirts that read “Change Starts With Us: Justice & Accountability” on the front, and on the back listed the names of Castile, Sterling, a Dallas Police Department emblem, and Black Lives Matter.

"This is a human issue & we need to speak up for change, together." -Maya pic.twitter.com/tyfl65Ag81

— Minnesota Lynx (@minnesotalynx) July 9, 2016

Members of the New York Liberty, Phoenix Mercury, and Indiana Fever followed suit by wearing black warmup shirts as a form of protest against the recent acts of violence.

Via Deadspin:

The New York Liberty followed suit, donning black warmups that had #BlackLivesMatter and #Dallas5 printed on them. This prompted the WNBA to send a memo to teams, warning them that violations of the official uniform policy could result in fines.

The Liberty responded by removing the slogans from their warmups, instead wearing plain black shirts that featured nothing but a small Adidas logo. They wore the plain black shirts four times, and the Fever and Mercury wore them on Tuesday night. As a result, each team has been fined $5,000, and each player who wore a black shirt was fined $500.

In a statement issued to the Associated Press, WNBA president Lisa Borders said, “We are proud of WNBA players’ engagement and passionate advocacy for non-violent solutions to difficult social issues but expect them to comply with the league’s uniform guidelines.”