Kneeling isn’t enough to protest against social injustice for WNBA players!

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On Saturday, The WNBA players walked off the court during the anthem, recording a powerful visual protest in support of racial injustice and the Black lives Matter movement. They rolled out their season with a tribute to Breonna Taylor, the 25-year-old-woman killed by police as an act of another police brutality against people of color.

As the players left the ground, cameras displayed text printed on the back of their shirts: “Say Her Name.” Not only this game, but the entire season is going to be observed as a tribute to the deceased black woman including the “Say Her Name” campaign. The aim is to raise awareness about rising social injustice against black women who were the victims of racial police brutalities.

All the players were seen wearing her name on Jersey honoring the deceased Breannoa Taylor. Players Layshia Clarendon of the Liberty and Breanna Stewart of the Storm talked about this initiative before the start of the game.

They said that they wish to dedicate the entire season to Breonna Taylor, who was brutally murdered in her home. And we also want to dedicate the season to the campaign, say her name, which aims to announce the names and fight for Black women justice. No one marches on the street for them, and they are often the victim of injustice. 

She continued announcing the names of four victims of racial police brutalities: Sandra Bland, Atatiana Jefferson, Dominique’ Re’ mie’ Fells, and Breonna Taylor.

She said that they would become the voice of all the voiceless people.

Stewart asked to observe an honorary moment of silence for 26-seconds, as Taylor was also 26 years old. After that, both the teams walked off the ground during the national anthem.

The WNA players will wear warm-up shirts printed with text like “Black Lives Matter” and “Say Her Name” throughout the entire season, according to the League’s announcements. The slogan of “Black Lives Matter” will also explicitly display on the court.

The powerful demonstration for social injustice isn’t a novel concept for WNBA, as the tournament actively raised awareness for the social cause throughout the years before it has become a mainstream trend for most of the sports events.

WNBA President Nneka Ogwemike said in the announcement that as several WNBA players have already said, multiple times, and have demonstrated consistently, the sole reason why we engage and lead such campaigns is that when it’s about social advocacy, the fight is in our DNA.