MAGA loyalists raged after George Floyd was honored at a WNBA game ahead of the five-year anniversary of his death.
The Minnesota Lynx held a moment of silence for Floyd, who was killed on May 25, 2020, in Minneapolis when a police officer knelt on his neck for nine minutes. The WNBA, known for its social activism, was a major voice in the nationwide protests that followed.
“Thank you guys for taking a minute to honor the life of George Floyd,” Lynx forward Napheesa Collier told attendees Friday night.
“His death exposed the holes that are still in our justice and criminal institutions today,” she added. “And its five-year anniversary reminds us that we must continue the fight against criminal, racial, and social injustices.”
The tribute drew outrage from the MAGA faithful, who routinely target the women’s basketball league and its players.
Benny Johnson wrote on X that “this is why nobody watches the WNBA.”
OutKick, a sports and political commentary site owned by Fox Corporation, published an article Sunday with the headline “WNBA Team Holds Moment Of Silence For George Floyd As League’s Social Justice Insufferability Continues.”
Libs of TikTok posted to its 4.3 million-strong audience that “A WNBA team held a moment of silence honoring George Floyd who died of a drug overdose and held up a pregnant woman at gunpoint,” citing debunked claims about Floyd’s death and criminal history.
The Daily Beast has contacted the WNBA and Minnesota Lynx for comment.
The MAGA posts follow recent calls for Donald Trump to pardon Derek Chauvin—the former Minneapolis cop who was convicted in Floyd’s murder—by right-wing figures including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. The Georgia Republican and others contend Floyd died of a drug overdose, disputing the findings of an autopsy that ruled his death a homicide.
The WNBA’s viewership has surged in recent years, with the league more than doubling its paid attendance figures from 2022 to 2024. With its newfound visibility has come a swell of racist, homophobic, and misogynistic harassment, its players have said.
Lynx players, and the league more broadly, have long been at the forefront of racial justice protests.
