WNBPA says it did not ask WNBA to drop USA 250 All-Star patch after union officer publicly objected

The WNBA Players Association says it did not ask the league to abandon a reported plan to place USA 250 patches on its All-Star uniforms, despite public criticism of the idea from one of the union’s elected officers.

In a statement to OutKick and Fox News Digital, the WNBPA said members of player leadership contacted the league after Sportico reported that the patches would appear on the uniforms during Saturday’s All-Star Game in Chicago .

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According to the union, the WNBA said at the time that no final decision had been made. The league later informed player leaders that it would instead commemorate the country’s 250th anniversary through "America 250" signage in and around the arena and by honoring veterans during the game.

"The league did not seek union input nor was the matter put before player leadership for action," the WNBPA told OutKick/Fox News Digital.

The statement undercuts the claim that the union formally demanded that the patches be removed, or held a vote opposing them. It doesn’t explain why the WNBA decided against putting the patch on the uniforms after Sportico reported that the league planned to do so, or whether the public objection from WNBPA treasurer Brianna Turner influenced that decision.

The WNBA did not respond to questions from OutKick and Fox News Digital about the union’s statement, who made the final decision or why the league chose not to use the patch.

The patches are part of a national initiative that has included the NFL, NBA, NHL , MLB, MLS, NASCAR, UFC and WWE. Every player wore one during the Super Bowl, while NBA players wore them throughout the Finals.

The WNBA was not listed in the initial Fanatics and America250 announcement, but Sportico later reported that the league planned to use the patches during All-Star Weekend.

Then the proposal reached the WNBA.

Las Vegas Aces forward Brianna Turner, who serves as treasurer of the WNBA Players Association and sits on its executive committee, publicly criticized the reported plan.

"Whoever called for the WNBA all-star uniforms to have the USA 250 patch should have thought that through considering no WNBA players would have been free 250 years ago," Turner wrote on social media.

She added that the league’s players are among the world’s most elite female athletes, but that 250 years ago they would have been "breeders or in the fields working all day."

"Be so serious rn," Turner concluded.

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Turner’s comments came before members of player leadership contacted the league about the Sportico report. The WNBPA now says those conversations were limited to seeking information and that the union neither provided input nor considered formal action on the patch.

WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike later confirmed that the Sportico report prompted players to raise the matter directly with league leadership.

"As players, we did ask about it," Ogwumike told reporters Friday, one day before the All-Star Game. "I think being in a league where you’re able to have that type of conversation with your leadership is important."

Breanna Stewart, another member of the WNBPA executive committee, was asked Friday whether the patches would appear on the All-Star uniforms.

"No, they’re not on the jerseys," Stewart responded.

At the time, neither Ogwumike nor Stewart explained whether players had objected to the patches during their conversations with the league. The WNBPA’s subsequent statement says the matter was never presented to player leadership for action.

What remains unclear is what happened inside the WNBA after player leaders asked about the report. The union says it offered no input and was never asked to take action, but the league has not explained why it ultimately chose arena signage and a veterans tribute rather than the uniform patch.

OutKick and Fox News Digital asked the WNBA whether it initially planned or agreed to use the patches, whether the WNBPA or individual players asked that they be removed, whether any All-Star said she would refuse to wear a uniform featuring one. We also asked who made the final decision and whether the league plans to recognize America’s 250th anniversary in another way.

The league didn’t respond by publication.

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Several reports and social media posts described WNBA players as "refusing" to wear the patches, but the WNBPA statement cuts against that framing. The union says player leaders neither offered input nor took formal action on the issue, and there remains no public evidence that any All-Star threatened to reject a jersey featuring the patch.

The WNBA’s only public statement came shortly after the Sportico report and Turner’s criticism.

"Like other major sports leagues, we are exploring how best to commemorate the country’s 250th anniversary," the league told USA Today. "Nothing has been finalized at this time."

That statement gave the WNBA plenty of room to retreat without taking responsibility for the final decision. It also avoided the obvious problem with Turner’s argument: America’s founding ideals were not the cause of the injustices she cited. They provided the moral and legal foundation Americans later used to defeat them.

Turner later softened her initial comments, telling USA Today that she was thankful for what the country had provided her but believed America had not yet achieved "true equality for everybody."

See, here's the problem with all the people who say things like "not everyone is equal in America." Faced with the obvious counterargument, "Please name one law in the United States that proves all citizens are not equal under the law," they never have an answer. Turner didn’t provide any examples of Americans not having "t...

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