Dave Portnoy and Riley Gaines have spoken out against the WNBA after a mother and daughter were threatened with ejection from a game for wearing pro-women T-shirts.
Local Georgia residents Kasey Thomason and her 17-year-old daughter, Annie, were sitting three rows back at Gateway Center Arena during the Indiana Fever’s 95-91 win over the Atlanta Dream on Sunday when stadium staff confronted them in overtime.
The duo, who paid $1,000 each for their lower-level seats, were wearing shirts from XX-XY Athletics, a brand that advocates for protecting women’s sports.
Security guards allegedly informed the pair that their attire was ‘offensive’ and violated arena guidelines, instructing them to cover up with promotional t-shirts or face immediate removal from the building.
‘We did nothing,’ Thomason said outside the arena following the game. ‘We were just sitting there. I didn’t make signs. I wanted to make signs, but I didn’t. I did nothing.’
Thomason claimed that another spectator wearing a ‘Protect Trans Rights’ shirt had pointed them out to security after that fan was similarly instructed to zip up a jacket over her shirt.
Dave Portnoy and Riley Gaines have spoken out against the WNBA after a mother and daughter were threatened with ejection from a game for wearing pro-women T-shirts
Kasey Thomason and her 17-year-old daughter Annie revealed that security at the Indiana Fever’s game against the Atlanta Dream had insisted that they remove their T-shirts
Dave Portnoy re-posted the Atlanta Dream’s explanation with a blunt three-word response
‘She shouldn’t have to zip up,’ Thomason added, noting that both spectators should have been allowed to wear their clothing without intervention.
Dave Portnoy, who is a huge Caitlin Clark fan and has criticized the WNBA on several issues in recent years, could not hide his dismay at the latest incident.
He took to social media on Monday night and simply wrote: ‘This league man’.
Hours before Portnoy’s post, the WNBA made a stunning admission that arena security were wrong to threaten the women over their outfit choices.
In a statement provided to OutKick, a WNBA spokesperson said: ‘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.’
Meanwhile, shortly after the WNBA’s statement, the Atlanta Dream shared their own message as they seemingly attempted to distance themselves from the drama.
It read: ‘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 was Dream personnel involved in the decisions made by WNBA security.’
Political activist Gaines was also among those to respond to the Dream’s post on X, writing: ‘The predictable ‘we believe in inclusivity!’ explanation for discriminating against two women who know what a woman is lol’.
The incident comes amid the ongoing controversy surrounding Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham, who voiced support for protecting women’s sports during an ESPN interview
The incident comes amid heightened debate around gender participation policies across the league following recent comments from Fever guard Sophie Cunningham, who voiced support for protecting women’s sports during an ESPN interview.
Cunningham shared what she called her ‘common sense’ opinion with ESPN that she wanted to ‘protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.’
Since then, Cunningham has been at the heart of protests and demonstrations both supporting and criticizing her, including Seattle Storm co-owner Celeste Keaton being fined and suspended after confronting and allegedly directing expletives at fans with a sign thanking Cunningham when the teams met and Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve wearing a ‘Trans kids belong’ T-shirt on the sideline in their game.
Meanwhile, political activist Gaines has been among those to throw their support behind the Fever star, recently attending an Indiana game to cheer Cunningham on.
However at the game, Gaines claims she was similarly told by a staffer to put down a sign which simply read: ‘Sophie, Thank You – A Girl Mom.’
After a debate with the staffer, which Gaines explained when speaking to OutKick, the political commentator was allowed to keep hold of the sign.
Gaines also shared a picture with Cunningham on Instagram, writing: ‘I show up for @sophie_cham because she shows up for my daughter.’
Though she didn’t comment on it, the Fever star did take time to like Gaines’ post.
The recent controversy comes shortly after political activist Riley Gaines claimed that a WNBA staffer told her to put down her sign which threw support behind star Sophie Cunningham
The debate around transgender inclusion has dominated WNBA discourse in recent weeks
Cunningham’s stance sparked uproar around the league, drawing both criticism and support alike. Two former NBA stars, Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White, declared themselves eligible for the WNBA draft in an apparent protest.
Freedom, who played in the NBA for 11 seasons and stands at 6ft 10in, announced his plans to declare for the WNBA Draft earlier this month amid the ongoing debate surrounding transgender athlete involvement in sports.
The former hoops star, who allegedly sent a provocative letter to WNBA commissioner, has sparked widespread criticism with his divisive decision.
Meanwhile, since his statement of intent, another former NBA star, White, has followed suit, also declaring for the WNBA Draft.
The 35-year-old, who only played three games in the NBA for the Sacramento Kings, told Fox News Digital that he is now transgender and wants to join the likes of Clark and Cunningham on the court next season.
White later doubled down by posting a picture of himself wearing a wig on social media.
