A Real Salt Lake jersey with a special patch commemorating the 250th anniversary of the United States is displayed in the dressing room before the 2026 MLS season opener between Vancouver Whitecaps FC and Real Salt Lake at BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Feb.21, 2026.
(Elizabeth Ruiz Ruiz/Getty Images)The WNBA hasn’t quite made up their minds, though.That should be of little to no shock to any of you that know about this league.
The Seattle Storm officially endorsed Kamala Harris for president during the 2024 election cycle, Brittney Griner and other athletes wore "Kamala Harris For the Culture" t-shirts during warm-ups, and the league is objectively the most left-leaning professional sports league in America.They’ve made that very clear, which would make sense of why they aren’t too fond on the idea of being excited and all-in on the idea of commemorating the country’s birthday. On Thursday, after an article from Sportico announced America 250 patches would be worn by players during the July 25 WNBA All-Star Game hosted by the Chicago Sky, it caused quite the uproar from players, fans and media.
The WNBA then provided further clarity about nine hours after it was published saying, "Like other major sports leagues, we are exploring how best to commemorate the country’s 250th anniversary.Nothing has been finalized at this time," the league said. The most notable criticism was from Las Vegas Aces forward Brianna Turner, treasurer of the WNBA player’s association.
Turner claimed that slavery should cause the league to refrain from using the patches.AMERICA250 JOINS NFL AT SUPER BOWL TO MARK NATION’S 250TH BIRTHDAY IN RED, WHITE AND BLUEBrianna Turner of the Las Vegas Aces is filmed for an in-arena player introduction video during the team's media day at LMG Studio in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 28, 2026.(Ethan Miller/Getty Images)"Whoever called for the WNBA all star uniforms to have the USA 250 patch should have thought that through cons...