A mother and daughter from Georgia attending the Indiana Fever’s victory over the Atlanta Dream on Sunday, Aug. 17, in Atlanta say they were “made to cover up” their T-shirts by league security staff at the arena. Video captured inside State Farm Arena and posted on social media shows Kasey Thomason and her daughter Annie covering up their XX-XY shirts with shirts provided by the Dream. XX-XY Athletics, which bills itself as a brand “here to protect women’s sports and spaces,” was founded by former gymnast and former Levi Strauss chief marketing officer Jennifer Sey. XX-XY has also organized rallies around WNBA games this season in "Support of Sophie Cunningham” after the Fever star made comments about transgender athletes participating in women's sports. In a statement provided to USA TODAY Sports, the WNBA said the fans shouldn’t have been made to cover their clothing. "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,” a league spokesperson said. “This should not have happened.” The Atlanta Dream provided an additional statement to USA TODAY Sports that said: "The Atlanta Dream believes in creating a safe and inclusive environment for everyone. Unfortunately, at last night’s game, WNBA security took actions that fell short of that standard. At no point were Dream personnel involved in the decisions made by WNBA security."
In a video posted by X user Adam Francisco, Thomason and her daughter explain what happened. “We were made to cover up our XX-XY shirts at this game. They gave us T-shirts during overtime and told us we had to leave or cover our shirts up. This just happened,” Kasey Thomason said. “... We did nothing. We were just sitting there. I didn’t make signs — I wanted to make signs, but I didn’t. I did nothing.” Thomason and her daughter said they spent more than $1,000 on tickets and were there to support Cunningham and “women in women’s sports, because it’s just common sense.” Last month, Seattle Storm co-owner Celeste Keaton was fined and suspended by the WNBA for five home games for comments she made to two fans wearing XX-XY shirts while watching the Storm play against Cunningham’s Fever. The WNBA finds itself at the center of a debate around transgender athletes participating in women’s sports following Cunningham’s comments in an ESPN story where she said, "I think that I am here to extend love. But I also think with that love is truth, being honest. And I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn't have to go against biological men." In subsequent interviews, Cunningham has doubled-down on that statement. Earlier this month, the Women's National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) released a statement denouncing transphobia and other forms of hate. The WNBA also released a statement, following an anti-hate task force meeting. “There are no immediate eligibility matters affecting the WNBA, and we strongly denounce the bad-faith efforts to use these topics to demean or marginalize others,” the WNBA said in that statement. In 2024, NCAA president Charlie Baker testified to the Senate he knew of fewer than 10 transgender student-athletes out of more than 510,000 college athletes. No transgender women play in the WNBA. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: WNBA says fans ‘should not have’ been asked to cover up XX-XY shirts