Black Lives Matter T-shirts worn by Minnesota Lynx players with a message of "justice and accountability" after the fatal police shootings of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling prompted four off-duty Minneapolis police officers to abandon their posts in protest during pregame warmups Saturday.
The officers were working private security for the game at Target Center when they decided to walk out over the display, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
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"I commend them for it," said Lt. Bob Kroll, president of the Minneapolis Police Federation.
Kroll did not know the names of the officers but said they removed themselves from consideration to work future games.
“Others said they heard about it and they were not going to work Lynx games,” Kroll told the Star Tribune. “If (the players) are going to keep their stance, all officers may refuse to work there."
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Castile and Sterling, both black men, were fatally shot by police officers in a 24-hour span last week, triggering protests and racial unrest in Minneapolis, Baton Rouge, La., and other cities across the nation. During one of the protests, in Dallas, five officers were killed when a shooter opened fire on the unit, reportedly in retaliation.
The black T-shirts worn by the three-time WNBA champions said "Change starts with us — Justice & Accountability" on the front. Castile's and Sterling's names were printed on the back along with "Black Lives Matter" and a Dallas Police Department emblem.
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During a pregame interview, Lynx star Maya Moore said the players were wearing the shirts "to honor and mourn the losses of precious American citizens and to plead for change in all of us."
"We are highlighting a longtime problem of racial profiling," Moore said, via the Star Tribune. "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."
Moore and other players also spoke at length about the "senseless ambush" on Dallas police.
