The New York Liberty were back to winning ways after defeating the Indiana Fever 109-102 in a close game on Saturday. However, the talking point after the game became the Liberty management altering a fan-paid message for the jumbotron, sparking immediate backlash. WNBA reporter Jon Root wasted no time in criticising the Liberty and their management over the incident.
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“The New York Liberty allowed THREE pro-trans messages to be displayed during their game vs Sophie Cunningham & the Indiana Fever. THREE,” Root posted on X on Saturday.
“But they denied this message: “Thank you Jennifer Sey! XX-XY Athletics will Save the Day!! What a joke. Absolutely insane.”
This was against the backdrop of the Liberty management allegedly altering a fan’s message on the big screen display during halftime, which originally thanked the apparel brand ‘XX-XY Athletics’ and founder Jennifer Sey. Outkick reached out to the fan, Julie Potter, and shared a video that detailed her thoughts after the incident.
“I wanted to put up a message to Jennifer Sey and thank her for everything that she’s doing, and it got approved. I paid for it. That was five days ago, and then, 24 hours before the game, I got an email that said they’re gonna alter my message and gave me no reason or recourse.”
“They said it was not in the spirit, and it wasn’t positive. I don’t understand it. I’m celebrating someone who’s doing amazing things for women,” Potter added.
The Liberty did not publicly clarify the decision, but provided this explanation to Potter.
“They said our scoreboard messages are limited to positive, celebratory content, and submissions that may intentionally or unintentionally violate that spirit are not eligible for display. Thanks, New York Liberty sales team.”
A Fox News report also mentioned that the fan paid over $100 to show the message ‘Thank you, Jennifer Sey! XX-XY Athletics will Save the Day!!’, but this was later changed to ‘Thank you, Jennifer Sey, thank you for all you do for XX-XY Athletics.’
This controversial change comes at a time when the WNBA’s eligibility criteria are under scrutiny after former NBA players Royce White and Enes Kanter Freedom have declared for the 2027 WNBA draft. The issue of transgender participation has raged on since Cunningham’s comments and has now elicited statements from both the WNBA and the WNBPA, both condemning any efforts to marginalize or demean any community.
The jury is still out on whether this response from the New York Liberty management was warranted. But this is not the first time XX-XY Athletics and founder Jennifer Sey have been at the forefront of the ongoing transgender debate, as their clothes have caused quite the stir inside arenas.
XX-XY Athletics Finds Itself at the Center of the WNBA Transgender Issue
While most brands avoid the transgender debate, XX-XY Athletics has embraced it. And by the looks of it, it has paid off.
As per the brand’s founder, Jennifer Sey, they are a brand with the philosophy of “supporting women’s sports and spaces,” according to their own website. Their statement is similar to the ones Cunningham made in a July 21 ESPN article, where she said she wanted to protect young girls in locker rooms from competing against “biological men.”
As Cunningham drew criticism for her comments on transgender athletes and their participation in women’s sports, several fans came out supporting Cunningham dressed in XX-XY T-shirts. Two such fans were reportedly asked to cover up the T-shirts by security during the August 16 Atlanta Dream and Indiana Fever matchup.
The WNBA did release a statement after the game that this act “should not have happened”. However, for Jennifer Sey, this only makes the company’s resolve stronger. She emailed her thoughts to Front Office Sports, stating that censorship from the league will only strengthen their resolve to protect women’s spaces.
Earlier this month, XX-XY Athletics’ sales surged sixfold as the brand became a symbol in the transgender debate. Their sales have apparently increased sixfold over the past weeks, with 85% being first-time customers.
The Liberty’s decision to alter the message deepens an already fractured debate within the league. Liberty fans will hope that there are no such incidents in their next home game against the Golden State Valkyries.