WNBA tips off in Bradenton with an empty court and tribute to police shooting victim

The WNBA season in Bradenton started with 26 seconds of silence and an empty court.

The opening game between the Seattle Storm and the New York Liberty had an emotional start with Seattle All-Star Breanna Stewart standing on the court next to New York’s Layshia Clarendon, who delivered a speech about the WNBA’s season-long dedication to the Black Lives Matter movement and Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black emergency medical technical killed by police in Louisville, Ky., on March 13.

“We are dedicating this season to Breonna Taylor,” said Clarendon, a member of the new WNBA Social Justice Council, said at the game’s start. “We will be a voice for the voiceless.”

Players left the court during the national anthem. Before the game, they stood in silence for 26 seconds in honor of Taylor and wore jerseys with her name on the back.

The 2020 season, which is being played in a 22-week “bubble” tournament in Bradenton, is expected to be charged with social justice initiatives alongside a full championship schedule. Symbols and logos declaring “Black Lives Matter” and “Say Her Name” were prominent on the court, and players wore jerseys that bore the name of Taylor.

After their victory 87-71 victory, Storm players avoided questions about the game and talked about Taylor.

“Today and this season is about honoring Breonna Taylor’s life and it’s about bring awareness to the fact that her murderers have not been brought to justice,” said Sue Bird. “We have no justice for her. They have not been arrested. That’s really all I’m going to talk about.

“That’s why we’re here. Yes, we play a game of basketball, but right now we have a platform to bring awareness and that’s what we’re focused on.”

Stewart said the Storm will continue to wear Taylor’s name on their jerseys for the rest of the season.

“We’re just going to continue to talk about her and make sure that our voices are heard and her name is heard,” Stewart said. “It’s more than what we do and what we wear. It’s how we act on it and we’ll continue to do that and continue to put pressure on (Kentucky Attorney General) Daniel Cameron.”

It appeared to be a sterile and sanitized environment at the Feld Entertainment Center in Ellenton where the WNBA will play all of its games. Players were socially distanced on the sideline and there just a handful of courtside spectators.

All of the WNBA teams are spending the season training at IMG Academy in Bradenton.

Information from the New York Times and the Seattle Times was used to compile this report.