Mother and Daughter Say They Were Threatened With Ejection Over Shirts at WNBA Game in Atlanta

Kasey Thomason and her daughter Annie described an encounter at a recent Indiana Fever versus Atlanta Dream matchup in which security personnel requested they remove their XX-XY Athletics apparel or face removal from the venue. The incident occurred at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, where the pair appeared on Fox News Channel’s “The Ingraham Angle” Monday to detail their experience with league security.

According to Kasey, a security guard approached them asking they change into Dream merchandise instead of their current shirts, though the guard acknowledged uncertainty about the specific reason for the directive. “He said he didn’t even understand but since someone told on us and said that they were offensive, we had to cover up, put on our Atlanta Dream shirts instead of our XX-XY,” Kasey explained.

Annie expressed shock at the situation, saying she had never experienced comparable treatment at a sporting event. “I was flabbergasted. It was the first time I experienced anything like that. I just had no words except like who is offended by the T-shirt at this point?” she stated.

The WNBA issued a statement Monday acknowledging the incident. “The WNBA is aware of interactions at last night’s game in Atlanta in which fans were asked by league security to cover their shirts. This should not have happened,” a league spokesperson said.

Annie remained skeptical the statement would produce meaningful change. “It’s 100% going to happen again until people actually do something about it. And no, it does not make me feel better because they’re not going to do anything about it,” she said.

A 2025 New York Times/Ipsos survey found substantial public opposition to transgender athletes competing in women’s sports. Among 2,128 respondents, 79 percent said males identifying as women should not participate in women’s sports, while 67 percent of 1,025 Democratic-identifying respondents held the same view. Among 1,022 Republicans surveyed, 94 percent opposed such participation.

Kasey suggested public opinion tilts even further against transgender participation in women’s athletics. “I’m pretty sure we’re like 90-10, 95-5 on men in women’s sports, but that 5 or 10% is so loud against us and it makes no sense,” she said.