Atlanta Dream apologizes after two women asked to cover shirts at game

The Atlanta Dream and the WNBA are in the hot seat after security staff at Sunday night's game in Atlanta had a confrontation with two women wearing XX-XY Athletics shirts. The much-anticipated game brought the Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark to Atlanta to face Angel Reese and the Dream, ending in a close 95-91 Fever overtime win. But much of the heat appeared to happen off the court as a Georgia mom and her daughter were told by security staff to cover the shirts or be escorted out of the game with two and a half minutes left in overtime, the family told Fox News. They were told the shirts were offensive to other fans. Sunday's game was marketed as "Wellness & Health Night," complete with shirts for fans. State Farm Arena policy also prohibits "clothing, garments or signs displaying explicit language, profanity or derogatory characterization of any person(s)." In a message on social media, the Dream said the decision to intervene was made by WNBA security, and not the team. "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," the team said Monday. "The league issued this statement earlier today: '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.'" What do XX-XY shirts mean? According to the XX-XY Athletics website, the company sells "casual cotton basics" from t-shirts to joggers "focused on being brave, telling the truth, and protecting women's sports." The company was founded by Jennifer Sey, a former gymnastics champion and brand president who was also outspoken about sexual abuse in the sport of gymnastics and during the COVID-19 pandemic when she advocated for open schools. “Throughout my life I’ve risked my reputation and standing in my community to stand up for children, women and free speech. XX-XY Athletics is the culmination of everything I’ve ever done in my life,” said Sey. The Georgia women, identified by Fox News as Kasey and Annie Thomason, told the outlet they wore the XX-XY Athletics branded shirts in support of Sophie Cunningham, a Fever player. Annie, the daughter, was wearing a piece that was created in collaboration with Riley Gaines. Sophie Cunningham recently faced backlash following an ESPN profile in which she made comments about "protect(ing) women's sports." The message was interpreted as being transphobic amid the national debate over trans athletes. "I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I'm like, 'I never once said that,'" Cunningham told ESPN. "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." Riley Gaines calls out WNBA Riley Gaines, the college athlete turned political activist and Fox News show host, has called Cunningham "America's sweetheart" in previous social media posts, and called out the WNBA for security's actions and the response. She has also been a strong opponent of trans athletes competing with cisgender athletes. "The WNBA acts like they don't know what a woman is with their performative meetings, yet they know women have two X chromosomes. How do I know they know? Because they made these women cover up shirts that said exactly that," Gaines said in a post on X. In another post, she called the WNBA "so unserious" and said their response was like "something Michael Scott would say in The Office." "The predictable 'we believe in inclusivity!' explanation for discriminating against two women who know what a woman is lol," Gaines said in a third post. Irene Wright covers Atlanta sports teams as the Atlanta Connect reporter with USA Today’s Deep South Connect team. Find her on X @IreneEWright or email her at ismith@usatodayco.com. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Atlanta Dream apologizes after two women asked to cover shirts at game