A mistaken decision by a WNBA security representative thrust the entire league back into the eye of the storm of a national culture war Sunday. But it began with subtle tension between two groups of fans with opposing views.
Kasey Thomason and her 17-year-old daughter Annie attended Sunday’s game between the Atlanta Dream and Indiana Fever to support Fever guard Sophie Cunningham and her stance on women’s sports.
They said they remained in their seats and had no confrontations during most of the game. By the fourth quarter, however, they noticed several Atlanta supporters wearing pro-transgender apparel looking in their direction.
"Maybe like the fourth quarter, I could tell," one of the Thomasons recalled. "They were like two rows in front of us and maybe, you know, five or 10 people down to the right. And so it was clear that they had a problem, that they recognized what it was to have a problem with it."
Kasey and Annie said the opposing fans were rooting for the Atlanta Dream, and were distraught when Angel Reese missed the game-winning layup in the final seconds of the fourth quarter.
Then in overtime, the Thomasons said they saw one of them speaking with arena personnel and pointing toward them.
"Because we saw someone talking to one of the people about our shirts and, like, pointing at us," Annie said.
With roughly two minutes remaining in overtime, a man approached Kasey and Annie and attempted to move them away from their seats for a private conversation. The women say the man was not dressed like a typical arena security guard, and was wearing a tan suit.
"Whenever the security guard came up to us, I wasn’t going to get out of my seat to go talk to him by ourselves, because I wanted people to hear what he said," Annie recalled.
"I was like, ‘Is this about our shirts?’ Because we had seen people pointing at our shirts. I didn’t think there would be any problem with our shirts, because we didn’t wear it in, like, a political way, because you’re not supposed to. We looked at the rules. We followed all of the rules. And so we thought we were perfectly fine until we saw these people pointing at us."
They said the security representative told them that someone considered the shirts offensive, according to the Thomasons, and gave them a choice: put on provided Atlanta Dream "Wellness & Health Night" shirts or leave the arena.
Kasey said she believed the complaint came from a woman wearing a "Protect Trans Kids" shirt who appeared familiar with regular Dream supporters and personnel. Fox News Digital has learned that WNBA security also made a person wearing a "Protect Trans Kids" shirt cover their shirt as well, right before confronting the Thomasons.
Kasey and Annie said the pro-trans fan should also have been permitted to display her views.
"Which shouldn’t have happened either," they said. "She should be able to wear whatever she wants to wear, and we should be able to wear whatever we want to wear, unless it’s, like, hate speech, which is not what either of our T-shirts were."
Kasey and Annie eventually put on the Dream shirts because they wanted to watch the conclusion of the overtime game. After they complied, Annie said a friend of the woman in the "Protect Trans Kids" shirt turned around and addressed her.
"It was the friend of the person who had the ‘Protect Trans Kids’ shirt on," Annie said. "She turned around and told me that she liked my shirt after we put the Atlanta Dream shirt on."
Annie recalled the woman saying, "I like your shirt."
"And I was like, ‘Thanks,’" Annie said. "There’s literally no point to say that."
She believes that the group had been involved in drawing security’s attention to the XX-XY shirts.
"So after we covered our XX-XY, she turned around to make sure we knew that she was, you know, basically, ‘I was involved in getting science covered up because I don’t agree with what you’re wearing,’" Annie said.
The Thomasons said nearby spectators — including several Fever fans — were surprised by the security intervention.
"There was a husband and a wife sitting directly behind us, and she pointed at her husband’s shirt when he was wearing a shirt about, like, God or something," Annie said. "She was like, ‘Should he cover this shirt up because God made men and women?’ So everyone was very surprised by the fact that we had to cover the shirts up."
The Fever ultimately won 95-91 after Angel Reese missed a potential game-winning putback at the end of regulation. The political division in the stands largely tracked the fans’ basketball loyalties: the Thomasons were supporting Cunningham and Indiana, while the people in the pro-trans shirts were cheering for Atlanta.
The episode followed an earlier confrontation at a Fever-Seattle Storm game, where two teenage Cunningham supporters wearing XX-XY Athletics apparel said they were berated by pro-trans fans and a Storm minority owner. The WNBA fined and suspended co-owner Celeste Keaton for five home games after that incident.
This time, however, security attempted to suppress both messages.
"Their inclusivity, it doesn’t extend to us," the Thomasons said. "Just treat everyone the same. As far as fans, treat us all the same. Whoever we’re cheering for, it doesn’t have to be a thing. If the trans girl doesn’t want to cover up her shirt, that’s fine too. You can wear that. We can wear this. Freedom—that’s what we live for, is freedom."
The WNBA acknowledged Monday that its personnel mishandled the situation, saying, "This should not have happened." The Atlanta Dream said its employees were not involved in the decision and placed responsibility on league security.
Despite their opposition to transgender participation in women’s sports, Kasey and Annie said the people wearing pro-trans shirts possessed the same right to express themselves.
"It’s America," they said. "Everyone can have their own opinion. Disagree with me. That’s fine. I’ll still be your friend and support you as a person. I’m not going to support your opinions and your ideas, but we’re still humans. We live in the U.S."
Asked whether the pro-trans fans should also criticize the WNBA’s actions, the Thomasons did not hesitate.
"Absolutely," they said. "They should not have had to cover their shirt up. No matter—I don’t agree with it. I don’t think that there should be trans kids, and I don’t think that there should be men in women’s sports, but they should definitely speak out that they had to cover up their shirts, too."
The confrontation may now help fuel another demonstration. Kasey said XX-XY Athletics founder Jennifer Sey was discussing bringing supporters to Saturday’s Fever-Liberty game in New York.
"Jennifer Sey is talking about having a bunch of people in New York on Saturday wearing their XX-XY gear," Kasey said. "We’re a little tempted."
The Atlanta episode left the two groups no closer to agreeing about transgender athletes. But it also placed them on the same side of one question: Neither group, the WNBA now concedes, should have been ordered to hide its message.