WNBA security apologizes for asking fans to cover shirts at Atlanta game
The league said security improperly instructed a mother and her daughter to conceal their XX-XY Athletics shirts during an Indiana Fever-Atlanta Dream game and acknowledged the mistake.
The Women’s National Basketball Association said on Monday that security personnel at the Indiana Fever-Atlanta Dream game in Atlanta asked a mother and her teenage daughter to cover their XX-XY Athletics shirts, a request the league said should not have occurred.
A WNBA spokesperson told OutKick, "The WNBA is aware of interactions at last night's game in Atlanta in which fans were asked by league security to cover their shirts. This should not have happened."
The incident involved Georgia residents Kasey Thomason and her 17-year-old daughter, Annie, who were seated courtside during the Fever’s 95-91 overtime win. They wore shirts supporting Fever guard Sophie Cunningham and the XX-XY Athletics campaign, which has become associated with the league’s debate over transgender participation in women’s sports. According to the family, a nearby fan complained and security gave them an ultimatum to change shirts or be removed. The pair complied by putting on Atlanta Dream shirts for the remainder of the game.
State Farm Arena policy bans apparel with explicit language, profanity or derogatory content, and the NBA Fan Code of Conduct prohibits obscene or indecent messages. Security did not cite any specific violation, describing the shirts as "offensive."
The league has not yet detailed any further investigation or the specific policy basis for the security action.