Cover up or ‘leave’? Mother and daughter say they were confronted at WNBA game over pro-women shirts

Another WNBA game is in the spotlight for the wrong reasons over an issue that just won’t go away.

The Atlanta Dream hosted the Indiana Fever on Sunday, with the cloud of inclusiveness and trans-identifying athletes in the league still following the WNBA around. The Fever beat the Dream 95-91 in overtime.

‘I didn’t make signs. I wanted to make signs, but I didn’t.’

Fever star Sophie Cunningham has been instrumental in bringing to light the conversation of women needing their own sports, but now the focus has shifted to the league as a whole.

WNBA personnel met to discuss league eligibility rules last week, but still made no definitive rule changes about restricting men from their league.

For the second time in a few weeks, women showing their support for Cunningham caused a stir at a WNBA game. This time it was at the Gateway Center Arena in Atlanta, where a mother and daughter say they were told to cover up their pro-women shirts or leave.

Georgia mother Casey and her daughter Annie said arena security approached them at their floor seats over the shirts, which read “XX XY athletics.” The daughter’s shirt also read “for the girls” on the back.

The ladies claimed that during overtime, a security member told them their shirts were “offensive” before asking them to put on a “Wellness Night” Atlanta Dream shirt instead. If not, they would be removed from the arena.

RELATED: WNBA team co-owner FINED and SUSPENDED for cursing out teen fans of Sophie Cunningham at Seattle game

The women obliged and wore the alternate shirts, as they wanted to see the end of the game.

“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,” the mother told reporter Adam Francisco after the game. The women said they were in the third row of their section, in seats they estimated cost roughly $1,000 each.

Francisco, who also attended the game, told the women, “I did notice during the game on the Jumbotron, they put up a woman wearing a shirt that said ‘protect trans rights’ or something.”

A fan wearing a shirt that said, “Trans kids belong in sports,” was seen on the broadcast for the same game, though it is unclear if it is the same person Francisco referred to.

“She was the one that told on us,” the mother and daughter claimed. “She was made to zip up her jacket.”

The women said the person with opposing views should not have been silenced either.

RELATED: ‘She didn’t wait until it was easy’: Victim of brutal injury from male athlete praises Sophie Cunningham

Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire/Getty Images

When asked why they wore their shirts, the mother and daughter stated, “To support Sophie Cunningham and to support women and women’s sports because it’s just common sense.”

This wasn’t the first time the XX-XY apparel caused problems at a WNBA game. In late July, Seattle Storm co-owner Celeste Keaton confronted a pair of teen girls over their clothing, as well.

Due to allegedly cussing at the young women, Keaton was suspended for five games and assessed a fine.

Majority owner Ginny Gilder apologized for the incident and said the team remained committed to “creating an inclusive environment.”

The WNBA did not respond to Blaze News’ request for comment.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!