The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Push for change continues as players return to the court
It might be a stretch to suggest that the WNBA is getting back to normal considering the events of the last few days, weeks and months, but players were returning to the court Friday after two straight days of the league’s games being postponed.
The Connecticut Sun, who did not play the regularly scheduled game against Phoenix on Wednesday, have an 8 p.m. contest against Los Angeles on Friday.
The move to not play Wednesday and Thursday began shortly after word spread that the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks made it known they would not take the court for their game Wednesday. The Bucks were responding to events in Kenosha, Wisconsin, as videos of police shooting
Jacob Blake in the back seven times surfaced.
“The WNBA has always been at the forefront of all things like social injustice and fighting for equality,” Connecticut Sun guard Jasmine Thomas said on a video conference call Friday morning. “We wanted to stand with our brothers in the NBA and it just trickled from there. It was to make a statement.
“When you feel like you’ve done what you’re able to do in this bubble in terms of wearing the shirts, kneeling and doing social media posts, sometimes it just doesn’t feel like enough and in that moment we had very little time to figure out what we’re going to do. Through the guidance and leadership of our executive committee, we were able to trickle that through and filter it through all the teams. I think it was
powerful; it came to a point where we knew we had to plan moving forward and those are conversations that are still happening but the statement was made and we were able to put ourselves in a position on a national stage to amplify our messages.”
Five players, led by WNBPA President Nneka Ogwumike of the Los Angeles Sparks, announced on ESPN on Thursday afternoon the plan for players to sit out a second consecutive game, but that they would return to action Friday. The remainder of the players from the 12 teams gathered and locked arms to show solidarity as a league.
“It was extremely powerful,”
said Minnesota Lynx forward and former UConn star Napheesa Collier. “Many people said that it feels like a big moment, it feels like what we’re doing is really important even though we know we don’t have as many eyes as on the men’s side. We’re doing our part about what we feel is right in order to make an impact.”
While the games will go on, the desire to make their voices heard both individually and collectively won’t go away.
“We keep using the word heavy but that’s what it’s felt like,” Thomas said. “Anytime you walked into a room or had meeting after meeting, there was just this thickness in the air. I feel like we made some progress in the sense of having all 144 of us here kind of gives you a
short cut. It’s easy to get everybody in one place and really talk through some things and have some serious deep conversations, but it’s just been tough.
“It’s tough for everyone in our country to continue to do their jobs when so much disappointing, disheartening things are happening. When you see another Black life lost or when you see in the [case] of Jacob Blake, just senseless violence against Black lives, it’s hard to focus.”
Thomas has been among the league players vocal about the need for change long before recent events. She became emotional when asked whether she has seen progress in the quest for social change.
“In a lot of ways, I feel like no,” Thomas said. “When you talk about police brutality specifically, no, I do not feel any progress. When you talk about the conversations that are happening, the media coverage, the awareness, you feel like people are more involved in the movement, more committed to the movement, but the people who can actually make the changes are the people that we elect. Where we’re trying to make the most difference is at the polls, voter turnout, making sure we’re being educated on candidates and putting the right people in positions to make progress.”
The Connecticut-Phoenix game originally scheduled to be played Wednesday has been rescheduled to Sept. 7 at 6 p.m.