The Atlanta Dream had been at the center of the WNBA world’s criticism following the controversy surrounding their August 16 game against the Indiana Fever.
But just days later, the attention has shifted to the New York Liberty after a fan’s account of an unexpected change to a paid jumbotron message sparked a fresh wave of backlash online.
The WNBA World Is Not Happy With the Recent Actions of the New York Liberty
On August 22, OutKick posted a video on X in which a fan supporting Sophie Cunningham explained that she had paid to have a message displayed during the New York Liberty’s upcoming Saturday game.
However, according to the fan, the Liberty’s sales team stepped in and changed the wording she had submitted before it was displayed.
“I wanted to put up a message to Jennifer Say and thank her for everything that she’s doing. And it got approved. I paid for it. That was five days ago. And then 24 hours before the game, I get an email that said they’re going to alter my message and gave me no reason or recourse,” the fan said.
She further stated that her original message thanked Jennifer Sey and stated that XX-XY Athletics would “save the day.” However, the message she received back from the Liberty had been reworded to simply thank Sey for what she does for the company.
“Yeah, so my original message was, ‘Thank you, Jennifer Sey. XX-XY Athletics will save the day.’ Then their response was, or their altercation of this was, ‘Thank you, Jennifer Sey. Thank you for all you do for XX-XY Athletics.’ Yeah, they said it was not in the spirit and it wasn’t positive. I don’t understand it. I’m celebrating someone who’s doing amazing things for women,” the fan added.
A Sophie Cunningham fan paid to have a message supporting @xx_xyathletics displayed at a New York Liberty game only for the team to alter and censor her original submission.
She tells @JackThompsonFOX the Liberty said they only allow “positive submissions” to be displayed. pic.twitter.com/msDUuzvxGG
— OutKick (@Outkick) August 22, 2026
The change quickly began making the rounds on social media, with several members of the WNBA world questioning why the original wording could not be displayed.
One influencer directly weighed in on the Liberty over this, pointing back to the Dream–Fever game where several Atlanta players didn’t come out for the national anthem.
The influencer argued the same organizational tolerance for protest was nowhere to be found when it came to a paying fan’s simple message of support.
“Liberty is owned by commies and players don’t stay out for National Anthem. Disgraceful!” the influencer wrote, whereas another one said, “Cowards!!!”
Liberty is owned by commies and players don’t stay out for National Anthem. Disgraceful ! https://t.co/lgP4oktrVR
— CCFC-New season (@sohali2012) August 22, 2026
Just days earlier, Republican politician Vernon Jones had tagged NBA commissioner Adam Silver, telling him to fix the WNBA before it was too late.
This time, a different influencer went a step further. They tagged the NBA directly and called for the league to be shut down altogether.
“@NBA it is time to officially shut down the @WNBA because us fans will start taking the
@WNBA to court where they will have to pay millions of dollars every month because we will file lawsuits against every team that they play in,” the influencer said.
@NBA it is time to officially shut down the @WNBA because us fans will start taking the @WNBA to court where they will have to pay millions of dollars every month because we will file lawsuits against every team that they play in.
— discipler22 (@discipler22) August 22, 2026
One influencer also pointed to comments made by Natasha Cloud during the postgame press conference following the WNBA game against the Los Angeles Sparks.
The argument was that the league found time to change a fan’s paid scoreboard shoutout, but, in the influencer’s view, could not be bothered to meaningfully address a player’s own controversial conduct.
“@WNBA no accountability for a openly racist player and allowing a representative of the league to tell everyone to go to hell at a press conference What about @T_Cloud4 using homophobic slurs on the podium last night?” the influencer wrote.
A Sophie Cunningham fan paid to have a message supporting @xx_xyathletics displayed at a New York Liberty game only for the team to alter and censor her original submission.
She tells @JackThompsonFOX the Liberty said they only allow “positive submissions” to be displayed. pic.twitter.com/msDUuzvxGG
— OutKick (@Outkick) August 22, 2026
For critics, the Liberty’s reported decision has reinforced concerns about the direction of the WNBA.
