The WNBA’s stance on a pair of fans being asked to cover their shirts at Sunday’s Dream-Fever game is clear.
“This should not have happened,” a league spokesperson said of the incident on Monday.
A mother and daughter were reportedly told by security at Atlanta’s Gateway Center Arena their XX-XY Athletics shirts were “offensive,” and were forced to either put on Dream T-shirts or leave the game.
“We were made to cover up our XX-XY shirts at this game,” the mom was recorded saying outside the arena after the game in Atlanta. “They gave us T-shirts during overtime and told us we had to leave or cover our shirts up. This just happened.”
“We did nothing,” she continued. “We were just sitting there. I didn’t make signs. I wanted to make signs, but I didn’t. I did nothing.”
The pair claimed they were “told on” by another fan who was made to cover up a “Protect Trans Rights” shirt.
The Fever have become a lightning rod in recent weeks after guard Sophie Cunningham told ESPN that she wants “to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.”
That has led to rallies in support of and against Cunningham, with XX-XY Athletics — an apparel maker with a stated mission “to empower female athletes and take a stand for fair competition” — backing the Indiana star.
The WNBA has also faced scrutiny of its rules pertaining to transgender athletes, with ex-NBA players Enes Kanter and Royce White claiming their eligibility for the league.
League officials met last week as part of an anti-hate task force, which concluded there were “no immediate eligibility matters affecting” the WNBA, and that “we strongly denounce the bad-faith efforts to use these topics to demean or marginalize others.”
