A Mother and Daughter attended the Atlanta Dream vs. Indiana Fever thrilling overtime game last Sunday night and were threatened with ejection from the arena for wearing XX-XY Athletics T-shirts, in support of Sophie Cunningham and women’s sports. During the game, the Thomasons were not approached until overtime, when a security guard approached them to talk. They were told that a fan(s) were offended by their shirts, so they had the choice to wear the provided Atlanta Dream “Wellness & Health Night” shirts, or they would be escorted out of the building.
The shirts did not appear to violate any published code of conduct, but they were merely “offensive.” Ultimately, the Thomasons were not removed from the game, but it did not quell the surge of online controversy that arose from the viral moment. The debate about whether trans athletes should be allowed to play in the WNBA, or any other women’s sport for that matter, has been one of the biggest talking points in the sports world for quite a while now, even going back to the last Olympics with the controversy surrounding the women’s boxing gold medal winner.
The Thomasons took to Fox News to react to the incident in the arena on Sunday night:
“Common sense people, that’s all we’re asking for.”
Kasey Thomason reacts after she and Annie Thomason say they were told to cover up their “XX/XY” shirts at a WNBA game in Atlanta following complaints from other fans.
The WNBA now says the fans should not have been asked to… pic.twitter.com/unvIxx9t2q
— Fox News (@FoxNews) August 18, 2026
This incident was likely escalated to the limelight due to the ongoing Sophie Cunningham and trans athlete debate that has been raging online all summer. For its part, the WNBA has since issued an apology stating, “This should not have happened.”
The WNBA has sent me a statement after a mother and daughter were allegedly told to cover up their XX-XY Athletics shirts at the Dream vs Fever game last night.
“The WNBA is aware of interactions at last night’s game in Atlanta in which fans were asked by league security to…
— Jackson Thompson (@JackThompsonFOX) August 17, 2026
The Atlanta Dream issued a statement as well, regarding the issue:
— Atlanta Dream (@AtlantaDream) August 17, 2026
It seems that the T-shirt issue is in the past, as in the days that followed, fans have been allowed to wear the XX-XY apparel to subsequent WNBA games without issues:
Security at the Valkyries-Lynx game did not allow protesters to bring their signs into the Chase Center, but did allow them to wear their XX-XY Athletics shirts freely.
“The chromosome shirts are not offensive.”
This comes days after fans at the Fever-Dream game were told to… pic.twitter.com/xXqrtfaAx1
— Jackson Thompson (@JackThompsonFOX) August 20, 2026
Texas AG Ken Paxton spotted at the Fever v. Wings game tonight with his daughter in Dallas wearing an XX-XY shirt. pic.twitter.com/2LMbUEEbrP
— ALX 🇺🇸 (@alx) August 21, 2026
Presumably, that is the last that we will be hearing about this brand of clothing being worn at WNBA games, but the overall issue currently raging in women’s sports appears to be far from over.
About Dave Kelsey
Contributing author to The Comeback.