Las Vegas Aces forward Brianna Turner has outraged conservatives by questioning the ‘USA 250’ patches being proposed for the WNBA All-Star jerseys this July.
Turner, a 29-year-old reserve and the treasurer of the players’ union, specifically took issue with celebrating the country’s founding in 1776 — a time when women were secondary citizens and Black Americans were still enslaved.
‘The irony of all the USA 250 stuff is that the vast majority of people in America today would not have been ‘free’ 250 years ago,’ she wrote in one post on X.
‘Whoever called for the WNBA all star uniforms to have the USA 250 patch should have thought that through considering no WNBA players would have been free 250 years ago,’ she added in another post. ‘The majority wouldn’t even have their freedom 100 years ago.
‘We are some of the most elite female athletes,’ she continued. ‘250 years ago we would have been breeders or in the fields working all day.’
The patches are a joint initiative between Fanatics, which manufacturers official authentic and replica jerseys for all major US leagues, Donald Trump’s White House and America250, a Congress-backed nonprofit overseeing the country’s 250th birthday celebration.
Las Vegas Aces forward Brianna Turner has outraged conservatives by questioning the ‘USA 250’ patches being proposed for the WNBA All-Star jerseys this July
Detail in the jersey of Real Salt Lake of a special patch in recognition of the 250th anniversary of the US is displayed in the dressing room prior to the 2026 MLS season opener
The WNBA has not finalized any decision to add the patch to its All-Star jerseys for the July 25 exhibition in Chicago.
The patch has already been worn by both teams during the NBA Finals, not to mention players in the MLS. Major League Baseball has plans to add the red-white-and-blue patch to the jerseys for July 4 games, and members of the Patriots and Seahawks wore it during Super Bowl LX.
In response to her post, Turner has faced criticism from social media comments to Fox News’ conservative sports website, Outkick.
‘We’ve come a long way as a country, and we can go further if league’s (sic) lay down their liberal arms and come together to unite America under the flag,’ Outkick’s Jon Root wrote in a scathing column about Turner.
Turner pointed to slavery and women’s secondary status in 1776 to argue against the patches
Turner received a similar response on X.
‘What an idiot,’ one irate commenter responded. ‘It’s people like her that have poisoned our country. If you don’t like America, move to Iran or North Korea.’
‘Some fun facts,’ another began. ‘Hundreds of thousands Americans died fighting for your f***ing whiny a**. No other country on earth did that.’
Many others poked fun at Turner’s status as a role player by reminding her she won’t be wearing an All-Star jersey this July.
Although she’s never been an All-Star, Turner is a two-time WNBA All-Defensive First Team selection.
