The WNBA and NWSL seasons are currently active, which means professional basketball and soccer players have a lot on their plates right now — but that didn't stop members of the players' unions from releasing a powerful joint statement in support of immigrants in the United States on Thursday. The WNBPA and NWSLPA shared the statement as families and individuals around the country are being detained and deported based on their immigration status.
"We're in the midst of a new season and an incredible moment for women's sports, but it's not lost on us that this country and the world are in turmoil right now," the statement begins. "Across the country, families are facing fear, hardship, and uncertainty tied to immigration."
"We stand with all people seeking safety, dignity, and opportunity, no matter where they come from or where they hope to go. Every person deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. We know not every situation is simple. But offering compassion should never be up for debate."
The WNBA has always been a political league
That the players in the WNBA touched on the riots and protests that have surrounded actions taken by the American government should come as no surprise; the WNBA has always been political, more so than just about every other professional players' union in the United States. The WNBA is also home to many players who are immigrants to the United States or are the children of immigrants, and it has nurtured a strong relationship with international basketball communities for decades.
The statement drew plenty of support from fans, but also the ire of others. Perhaps the latter group need only look back to the very foundation of the WNBA, a league that has always boasted primarily Black women and openly queer women, a league that has allowed athletes to speak up for issues that concern them and that they care deeply about. WNBA leadership has certainly had its faults over the years, but this is one area where the league has been generally supportive.
As Nneka Ogwumike, the president of the WNBPA and the daughter of proud Nigerians, told Harper's Bazaar in 2023, "Our league is made up of the people that require more rights in this world and our society. Because we understand our platform—and honestly, I think too, because of the narrative around how quickly it can disappear—I think that we take those moments to take advantage of, you know, the platforms that we do have and us being able to speak out and reach more than people would normally expect."
Sports are only one part of life
Being an incredible athlete doesn't stop a person from caring about issues that plague their country, or even the entire world, and that's something the members of the WNBPA made clear with this statement's release. They didn't have to say anything — and many professional sports leagues still have not — but they wanted to. It's no surprise that the NWSLPA joined suit, especially given the leadership in that union and its own history of activism and standing up to injustice.