The WNBA on Saturday "rescinded its fines" issued to players for wearing protest shirts, "quelling a public outcry that had mounted steadily since" league President Lisa Borders issued her punishment last Thursday, according to Nick Eilerson of the WASHINGTON POST. Borders in a statement said, "Given that the league will now be suspending play until August 26 for the Olympics, we plan to use this time to work with our players and their union on ways for the players to make their views known to their fans and the public" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 7/23). Minnesota Lynx F Maya Moore said the majority of players are "really happy with the consistency that we’ve had as a unit to follow through and stand strong with the message that we want, which is that we are here with everyone hurting at this time and we want to make sure that we can raise our voices to encourage everyone to move forward and have that positive change." Moore: "Happy with the way we stuck through with our decision to stand up, despite some controversy and some confrontation. … Just proud of where we’ve come as a league and the unity that we’re showing” (“NBA GameTime,” NBATV, 7/25).
BEHIND THE DECISION: The AP's Doug Feinberg noted Borders spent the past two weeks talking with the WNBPA and its exec council, "trying to come up with ways that both the league and its players could constructively address the Black Lives Matters movement." But "nothing concrete was decided." Borders on Friday said, "We were making every effort to engage our players. We made an effort to support them and we were trying to get them to come to the table to have a conversation. The players have an open invitation with the league." She added, "Our players are important to us. We believe in them. We want them to be the people they are and we're proud of them. We want to make sure they play well on the court and they are happy off the court." Borders "disagreed with the notion that the league was suppressing its players' voices." She said, "We want the players to know that we have supported them in the past, support them today and will continue to support them in the future." But the league "just doesn't want them to do it on the court if it violates the WNBA uniform rules" (AP, 7/23).
KEEPING STRONG: ESPNW's Mechelle Voepel wrote the WNBA reversal "was a good decision." Now players "have reason to believe that Borders really is a reasonable and responsive leader who might have incorrectly gauged their passion on this subject, or perhaps just didn't realize they would strongly push back" (ESPNW.com, 7/24). In DC, Gene Wang noted the Washington Mystics on Friday "became the latest WNBA team in recent days to strike a defiant tone." Players "wore 'Black Lives Matter' T-shirts as they entered Verizon Center" for the game and "indicated they would continue [to] voice opinions on social issues." But the team "wore regulation WNBA apparel -- black shirts with the team name on the front -- for pregame warmups and during the national anthem." L.A. Sparks F Nneka Ogwumike said, "I definitely love the way that it was conducted. It couldn’t have been more professional, more unified" (WASHINGTON POST, 7/23). USA TODAY's Nina Mandell noted the Mystics "refused to talk about basketball on Friday," as players "would only talk about the issues going on in the world" (USATODAY.com, 7/22).
COMMAND & CONTROL: Borders was recently featured in the N.Y. TIMES' "Corner Office" Q&A, where she touched on a range of topics. On leadership, Borders said, "When I started out, I was command and control -- do as you're told. Now it's about appreciating that you have two ears and one mouth: You should listen twice as much as you talk. Empowering and enabling people is far more compelling, and the results are always much better." On improving as a leader, Borders said, "I’m working on patience. That’s the weakest link in my character. I often am very hard on myself. I’m not hard on my people, but I’m really hard on myself, and I think it’s born out of how I grew up." On advice to new grads, she said, "Be true to yourself. It’s hard to do that when you’re young. I think none of us is confident enough when we’re young. We’re trying to prove something to somebody, to a parent, to a significant other. It’s very hard to have the courage of your convictions when you’re young" (N.Y. TIMES, 7/24).
