Four off-duty police officers walked off from a security gig at a Minnesota Lynx WNBA game after players wore Black Lives Matter shirts during the warm up.
“Change starts with us. Justice and accountability,” the front of the black shirts read, while the back read, “Philando Castile. Alton Sterling. Black Lives Matter.” The back of the shirt also had a Dallas Police Department emblem.
“I commend them for it,” Lt. Bob Kroll, president of the Minneapolis Police Federation, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
“Others said they heard about it and they were not going to work Lynx games,” said Kroll. “If (the players) are going to keep their stance, all officers may refuse to work there.”
The WNBA Lynx players wore the shirts in response to last week’s violent tragedies. Two black men, Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, were shot and killed at the hands of police officers. Following their deaths, there was a peaceful protest in Dallas that turned violent after a gunman killed five police officers.
“If we take this time to see that this is a human issue and speak out together, we can greatly decrease fear and create change,” said the Lynx’s Maya Moore, according to ESPN.
When asked about the varying reports in numbers of how many cops actually quit their post during the game, Kroll said “they only have four officers working the event because the Lynx have such a pathetic draw.”