This move was made as an act of protest and solidarity for the Black Lives Matter movement.
By Chinekwu Osakwe, The Grio
WNBA players from both the New York Liberty and Seattle Storm teams exited the court before the national anthem.
This move was made as an act of protest and solidarity for the Black Lives Matter movement.
Once the teams returned to the court at the start of the game, they made sure to make a strong statement.
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“Black women who are so often forgotten in this fight for justice, who do not have people marching in the street for them – we will say her name,” said Layshia Clarendon of New York Liberty.
Clarendon then went on to list the names of Black women who have died due to police brutality and gender-based violence.
“Sandra Bland, Atatiana Jefferson, Dominique Rem’mie Fells, and Breonna Taylor. We will be a voice for the voiceless,” she concluded.
Breanna Stewart of the Seattle Storm then announced a 26-second moment of silence for Taylor. Stewart noted that Taylor was killed at the age of 26.
"We're blessed to be able to wake up. We're blessed to be able to be here. Breonna Taylor is not here. The women and men of color who we lost to police brutality they are not here. They don’t get to wake up."
—@SkyDigg4 pic.twitter.com/lSWT5aVppD— ESPN (@espn) July 25, 2020
Taylor was killed in her bed after a police raid in March. She was sleeping and the police entered the wrong home. Taylor allegedly got no medical aid in the moments after being shot by police.
During this WNBA season, Black Lives Matter will surely be at the forefront. In the past few years many WNBA players have peacefully protested police brutality.
In 2016, during the playoffs, many Indiana Fever players knelt to protest the deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling.
The Los Angeles Sparks also did a similar court walk-off in 2017, in support of Black Lives Matter.
This article originally appeared on The Grio.
