Players held a press conference to call for peaceful conversation in response to racial injustice and drew backlash from a local police group.
Four Minneapolis police officers working security at a Minnesota Lynx game walked off the job after Lynx captains held a pregame press conference to raise their voices about racial profiling and senseless violence on Saturday.
The team also wore t-shirts with "Change Starts With Us: Justice & Accountability" written on the front and the names of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile as well as the Dallas Police Department emblem on the back to honor and mourn the losses of two black men shot and killed by police and five officers killed on duty last week. The bottom of the shirt read "Black Lives Matter."
The tragic events drew close to home for the Lynx as Castile was killed in Falcon Heights, about 20 minutes from the Target Center where the team plays. Sterling was killed in Baton Rouge, La., where Lynx star Seimone Augustus was raised.
The players' conference wasn't a form of protest aimed to point fingers, but rather a peaceful attempt at creating effective conversation.
"You'll see on the backs of our shirts that we're highlighting a longtime problem of racial profiling and unjust violence against blacks in our country," said Maya Moore in a pregame press conference. "But we do not in any way condone violence against the men and women who service in our police force. Senseless violence and retaliation will not bring us peace."
Still the message left four officers offended enough to leave their posts, which the team was made aware of after they departed.
"While our players message mourned the loss of life due to last week's shootings, we respect the right of those individual officers to express their own beliefs in their own way," the team said in a release. "We continue to urge a constructive discussion about the issues raised by these tragedies."
Minneapolis Police Chief Janeé Harteau responded with a statement Tuesday explaining that "everyone is hurting" and that "we all need to find a way to come together." Harteau did mention that though accountability was a must, officers deserved and needed public support.
"Although these officers were working on behalf of the Lynx, when wearing a Minneapolis Police uniform I expect all officers to adhere to our core values and to honor their oath of office," her statement said. "Walking off the job and defaulting their contractual obligation to provide a service to the Lynx does not conform to the expectations held by the public for the uniform these officers wear."
In contrast to the police chief's statement, President of the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis, Lieutenant Bob Kroll, commended the officers, who withdrew their names from working any future Lynx games, according to the Star Tribune.
When he was asked if more than four officers had walked off the job, Kroll told the Tribune, "They only have four officers working the event because the Lynx have such a pathetic draw."
Kroll did not immediately return a call for comment to SB Nation.
Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges took to Facebook to reject Kroll's remarks.
Following the Lynx cue, New York Liberty players wore shirts that read #BlackLivesMatter #Dallas5 before their game on Sunday.
The Lynx did not wear the t-shirts to their road game against the San Antonio Stars on Tuesday.
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