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During the Liberty’s home game vs. the Lynx on Tuesday night, multiple pro-choice protesters ran onto the court while topless to protest the Supreme Court’s potential overturning of Roe v. Wade.
The protesters had patches covering most of their breast area, but they did not wear shirts as they ran onto the court. They held pieces of cloth in their hands while security escorted them off of the court.
There were also abortion rights protesters present in the building. Soon after the pro-choice protesters left the court, more advocates from the same group began walking around holding signs that said “Overturn Roe? Hell No!” and “Abortion on demand & without apology.” These individuals walked around the Barclays Center holding the green signs, but did not make their way onto the court.
It’s unknown what happened to the protesters after they were escorted off the court.
After the game, Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu said she wasn’t sure what was going on during the protest incident.
“I wasn’t sure what was going on,” Ionescu said. “I personally thought it was the halftime show. It took me some time to process. I’ve only seen stuff like that on Twitter.”
Liberty guard Rebecca Allen appreciated the cause and said she was glad the team didn’t get too distracted by the distrubtion.
“I’m all for the message and happy we were able to lock back in,” Allen said.
This is just one instance of recent protests pausing play during sporting events, though this is the first known demonstration regarding abortion rights during a sporting event this year.
Protests took over the NBA playoffs in Minnesota this year, ranging from a woman gluing her hand to the court, while another chained herself to the basket. These incidents were to protest Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor’s farm, which reportedly killed a large number of chickens to prevent a bird flu outbreak.
Just last week, one fan at the French Open glued her hand to the net and chained herself to the net to bring awareness to climate change.
If you want to see the video of the demonstration, which contains mild nudity, click here.
