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Arena Threatens to Remove Mom & Daughter Sporting Pro-Girl Shirts
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Arena Threatens to Remove Mom & Daughter Sporting Pro-Girl Shirts

A Georgia mother and daughter say they spent roughly $2,000 on tickets to an Indiana Fever-Atlanta Dream game Sunday, only to be told during overtime that they had to cover shirts expressing support for women’s sports or leave the arena.

Kasey Thomason and her daughter, Annie Thomason, attended the game at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena wearing shirts associated with XX-XY Athletics, a clothing company whose stated position is that women’s sports should be reserved for biological females. One of the shirts carried the message “For the Girls.”

The pair had seats only a few rows from the court as the Fever, featuring Sophie Cunningham, defeated the Dream 95-91 in overtime.

After the game, the Thomasons spoke with conservative social media personality Adam Francisco about what they said happened inside the arena.

“We were made to cover up our XX-XY shirts at this game,” Kasey said. “They gave us T-shirts during overtime and told us we had to leave or cover our shirts. This just happened!”

OutKick writer Jon Root identified the two as Georgia residents and reported that Annie estimated their tickets cost “$1,000 each, around.”


According to their account, a security guard approached them during overtime and gave them a choice: Put on shirts connected with the Dream’s “Wellness Night” promotion with Emory Healthcare or leave State Farm Arena.

Video from ESPN’s broadcast appears to show the women holding tan Dream shirts with about two and a half minutes remaining in overtime. Root reported that with roughly 1:30 remaining, both women had put the shirts on.

The incident was particularly notable because the Thomasons said another spectator at the game was wearing a “protect trans rights” shirt. Francisco said that fan had even appeared on the arena’s Jumbotron.

The Thomasons said that spectator was also eventually required to cover her shirt. Kasey speculated that the woman may have complained about their XX-XY clothing, although there was no confirmation of who, if anyone, made a complaint.

Root reported that the Thomasons said other nearby spectators supported their shirts and Cunningham during the game.

The precise reason security ordered the shirts covered was not immediately clear from the accounts provided. The messages also do not appear, on their face, to fall neatly within the arena’s published clothing restrictions.

State Farm Arena rules prohibit “Clothing, garments or signs displaying explicit language, profanity or derogatory characterization towards any person(s).”

The NBA Fan Code of Conduct similarly states that “Obscene or indecent messages on signs or clothing will not be permitted.”

“For the Girls” contains neither profanity nor an explicitly obscene message. XX-XY Athletics uses the sex chromosomes in its branding as part of its campaign opposing the participation of transgender women in female athletic categories.

The controversy comes as Cunningham has publicly aligned herself with the position that women’s professional basketball should remain restricted to biological women.

That debate has become increasingly visible around the WNBA, where questions involving transgender participation, sex-based athletic categories and political expression have produced disputes both inside and outside arenas.


Cunningham, a Fever guard and Caitlin Clark’s teammate, has developed a following among fans who share her position. A recent New York Times/Ipsos poll found that 79 percent of Americans surveyed said transgender female athletes should not be allowed to compete in women’s sports.

The league has also faced a separate controversy involving Seattle Storm co-owner Ginny Gilder after an interaction with young Cunningham supporters. The WNBA subsequently suspended Gilder for one game and fined her following the July incident, according to OutKick.

For the Thomasons, however, Sunday’s dispute was much more immediate.

They had purchased expensive seats, attended the game wearing clothing that communicated their position on women’s sports, and were allowed to remain in those shirts through regulation. It was only during overtime, according to their account and the broadcast timeline reported by OutKick, that security intervened.

They complied rather than leave, putting the replacement shirts over their clothing and remaining for the conclusion of Indiana’s overtime victory.

Written by Arthur Higgens - August 18, 2026