Most weeks, Las Vegas Aces guard Sydney Colson speaks for just one minute on her social media talk show, 60 Seconds With Sydney. This time, that wouldn’t suffice. Instead, Colson brought together nearly every Black WNBA player to put forth what Colson called a “statement of fact:” Their lives matter.
“We were never trying to convince you, this was always a statement of fact,” Colson says in the intro, “that black lives matter.”
Dozens of players from around the WNBA then joined Colson to reiterate the message: “My life matters.”
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The league has boosted the 90-second video on its social channels throughout the week. The league is also donating portions of the proceeds from its “Bigger than Ball” apparel line to organizations fighting for racial justice after urging from the Players Association. At the same time, the Players Association is in talks with the league on a plan to play out the season, possibly at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.
While other major American sports leagues plot out how to speak on police brutality and racism when they next take the field or court, women’s basketball has often been at the forefront of public displays of protest. The Notre Dame women’s basketball team wore “I Can’t Breathe” warmup shirts back in 2014, and in 2016, the Minnesota Lynx donned shirts at a postgame press conference that said “Change Starts With Us.” Back then, the league was not nearly as supportive of public demonstrations by players, but has since softened its stance.
Sharing Colson’s powerful video is a step, but the recent history of the WNBA shows the players often lead the way against the instincts of the league, and this moment has been no different.