Liberty Scrubs Fan’s Pro-Women’s Sports Scoreboard Message Before Fever Game

Clear Facts

• New York Liberty attempted to alter a fan’s paid $100 scoreboard message thanking XX-XY Athletics founder Jennifer Sey before refunding the payment
• Julie Potter purchased 25 tickets worth over $2,000 to support Sophie Cunningham, who has publicly opposed transgender athletes in women’s sports
• The Liberty cited a policy restricting scoreboard messages to “positive, celebratory content” but never specified which words violated their standards

A longtime WNBA fan is accusing the New York Liberty of censorship after the team attempted to rewrite her paid scoreboard message supporting XX-XY Athletics, a company advocating for biological women in sports. Julie Potter, a lesbian hip-hop artist from California, says the incident represents the latest example of the league silencing fans who support traditional women’s sports categories.

Potter purchased 25 tickets for more than $2,000 to attend the Liberty versus Indiana Fever game at Barclays Center on August 22. She also paid $100 for a scoreboard message during halftime.

Her original submission read: “Thank you Jennifer Sey! XX-XY Athletics will Save the Day!!”

The Liberty initially approved the message and processed Potter’s payment on August 17. But one day before the game, the team’s sales department contacted her with a modified version.

“Your scoreboard message for 8/[22] has been modified to: ‘Thank you Jennifer Sey, thank you for all you do for XX-XY Athletics.’ This will run during halftime.”

Potter objected to the unauthorized changes and demanded either her original message or a refund. The Liberty refunded her money but offered only a vague explanation for the alteration.

“Our scoreboard messages are limited to positive, celebratory content, and submissions that may intentionally or unintentionally violate that spirit are not eligible for display,” the Liberty sales team wrote.

Potter fired back, accusing the team of censorship.

“Unfortunately, this is censorship. My message was approved and payment was accepted. You then changed it without giving me any opportunity to revise or respond, and you did so inside your own 48-hour window. Why would I pay to let you speak for me?”

The Liberty’s publicly available scoreboard message form requires submission at least 48 hours before tipoff. It does not list additional content restrictions beyond the requirement that proceeds support the Brooklyn Nets and New York Liberty Foundation.

Potter told Fox News Digital she intentionally crafted her message to avoid triggering the team’s censors.

“I wanna say I purposely didn’t put Sophie’s name in it, ’cause I thought that would trigger, trigger them.”

XX-XY Athletics was founded by Jennifer Sey, a former national champion gymnast and former Levi Strauss & Co. brand president. The company produces apparel and advocates for keeping transgender athletes out of female sports categories.

Potter emphasized that the Liberty never identified which specific words violated their standards.

“I don’t know what that means. What did I do wrong? I want a code. I want a violation. I read everything. I read their website. I made sure to follow the rules. I said nothing derogatory. I didn’t even say, ‘Save women’s sports.’ I just said, ‘Shout out to the CEO of a dope company who’s changing the world from my perspective.’ That’s obviously not their perspective, but is this America? Can we have different perspectives?”

The controversy stems from Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham’s public stance opposing transgender athletes competing in women’s sports. Potter and her group planned to attend a rally supporting Cunningham before Saturday’s game, joining similar demonstrations that have followed the Fever during recent road games.

These gatherings have sparked counterprotests and confrontations involving fans wearing XX-XY Athletics clothing. The WNBA recently acknowledged that security personnel wrongly asked a mother and daughter to cover their XX-XY shirts during a Fever game in Atlanta.

Potter’s connection to the WNBA runs deep. She attended the league’s inaugural game on June 21, 1997, when the New York Liberty defeated the Los Angeles Sparks 67-57 at the Great Western Forum. Four days later, she watched the Sparks earn their first franchise victory.

“I saw Lisa Leslie. I am a Californian, and I grew up on the Sparks.”

Despite her long history with the league, Potter says she will no longer purchase Liberty tickets. She plans to redirect her support toward the Fever and organizations that respect her position on women’s sports.

“I’d love to go to a Fever game. They gonna make the playoffs, you know? Yeah, I’m already planning on it. I know they’ve got some great games in September, so yeah, my money shall be directed to where it is welcomed. And if they have a scoreboard, and I can put it up, and Jen gets to roll, I will.”

Potter clarified that she holds no animosity toward the Liberty or its players.

“I love the Liberty, though. I got no hate. I think they’re an incredible team. You know, shout out Stewie.”

Her support follows Cunningham rather than any particular franchise. She credited the Fever guard with giving women like herself a reason to publicly support the league.

“I’m a woman loyalist, okay? So I’m there for Sophie. Where Sophie’s going, I’m going where the Fever’s going.”

Potter argued that the attention surrounding Cunningham benefits the WNBA by bringing new customers into arenas.

“Of course it’s good for the league. We’re women supporting women playing a woman’s sport. How is this not good? Every Fever game is selling out.”

The incident adds to mounting censorship concerns surrounding the WNBA’s treatment of fans who support Cunningham’s position on women’s sports. Alliance Defending Freedom sent a letter to WNBA leadership Friday addressing recent incidents involving Cunningham supporters in Seattle and Atlanta.

“The WNBA claims to stand for female athletes, but we’ve seen recent current events undermine that claim. We have seen just in the past few weeks that there have been two separate incidents where fans have been silenced or berated when they tried to peacefully express their viewpoint,” ADF legal counsel Suzanne Beecher said.

The letter cited teenage girls confronted by Seattle Storm co-owner Celeste Keaton while holding signs supporting Cunningham, along with the mother and daughter instructed to cover their XX-XY Athletics shirts in Atlanta. The WNBA suspended Keaton from five Storm home games and later said the Atlanta incident “should not have happened.”

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton recently told Fox News Digital that he admired Cunningham for speaking publicly despite criticism. Paxton said the WNBA should protect the ability of fans to peacefully express differing opinions.

Paxton expressed willingness to engage with the league and continue supporting its games. However, he said he would not retreat from his principles regarding women’s sports or the treatment of Cunningham’s supporters.

Potter’s rejected scoreboard message now gives critics another incident to cite as they question whether the league treats opposing viewpoints equally. The Liberty have not responded to requests for comment on Potter’s statements or the specifics of their content policy.

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