The missing commemorative USA 250 jersey patches at the WNBA All-Star weekend have quickly spiraled into another controversy for the league. It started when people noticed that the WNBA All-Star jerseys didn’t have the commemorative patches. OutKick’s Jon Root took to social media to voice his disapproval, and that’s when Indiana state Rep. Marlin Stutzman added his comments, mentioning Brittney Griner in his post. However, former Indiana Fever player Brianna Turner couldn’t let it slide.

Turner, who played for the Indiana Fever in 2025, criticized Indiana Congressman Marlin Stutzman, who invoked Brittney Griner while calling out the WNBPA.

“Hey @RepStutzman, I hope you treat your constituents a bit better than this. Politicians like yourself are a disgrace to America. I spent 6 years of my life in Indiana playing on women’s basketball teams, so it’s actually ironic that an Indiana State rep said this,” Turner wrote on X.

Despite earlier reports that players would wear commemorative USA 250 jersey patches for the All-Star Game, the idea was later dropped. In fact, Turner, who is also the treasurer of the WNBPA, didn’t subscribe to the idea of wearing the patches. She pointed out that most of her peers are Black women, a historically marginalized group.

“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,” Turner wrote in a post on X back on June 4.

“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. The majority wouldn’t even have their freedom 100 years ago.”

Regardless of how this decision came about, it prompted Stutzman to release a statement of his own, in which he referenced Brittney Griner’s imprisonment in Russia in August 2022. After the incident, the US government stepped in to classify Griner as “wrongfully detained” through negotiations.

“Let’s hope that Brianna Turner or any other players who agree with this short-sighted WNBPA blunder never wind up in a situation like Brittney Griner and need the good ole’ stars and bars to come to their rescue! Another issue Adam Silver should step in to correct,” his statement read, with a later edit changing “stars and bars” to “red, white and blue.”

Meanwhile, following the public outcry, the WNBA clarified their intent with an official statement.

The WNBA officially addressed the lack of commemorative patches on players’ jerseys

“As America celebrates its 250th anniversary, the WNBA was proud to honor the service and sacrifice of our nation’s veterans and military families,” they wrote in their statement. They also explained they honored the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

“Veterans and military families have long been part of the WNBA community—as players, fans, and league, team, and arena staff. Through All-Star Weekend in Chicago, the league recognized their contributions and helped create meaningful experiences in celebration of this historic milestone.”

The league’s clarification also came after the WNBPA had told OutKick that they didn’t play a role in the US 250 commemorative patches being absent from the All-Star jerseys on July 25. They explained that the WNBA had not consulted the Players’ Association when the league decided not to feature the patches.

“The league did not seek union input nor was the matter put before player leadership for action,” the WNBPA told the news outlet.

Earlier in June, WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike had said that they indeed reached out to the league regarding the initiative.

“As players, we did ask about it. I think being in a league where you’re able to have that type of conversation with your leadership is important,” Ogwumike told reporters.

However, despite the WNBA clarifying that they had honored the nation’s historic milestone in their latest statement, the league didn’t explain exactly why they decided to drop the patches and opted for other ways to honor the occasion.