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NEW YORK -- WNBA players arent the only ones who cant understand why their social activism has resulted in fines by the league.New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony has their backs, too.The Indiana Fever, New York Liberty and Phoenix Mercury and their players were fined by the WNBA for wearing black warm-up shirts in the wake of recent shootings by and against police officers.All three teams were fined $5,000 and each player was fined $500, as the shirts violated the leagues uniform policy. While the black shirts were the Adidas brand -- the official outfitter of the league -- WNBA rules state that uniforms may not be altered in any way.Whats most upsetting is the way it was handled, Indiana Fever player rep Briann January said. You have a league that is 90 -- if not above 90 -- percent African-American and you have an issue that is directly affecting them and the people they know, and you have a league that isnt willing to side with them.Its not a race issue, not an anti-police issue, not a black or white issue. Its a right or wrong issue.?Anthony, among those trying to get athletes to take a more active role in social issues, agrees with January and her fellow players that the fines are misguided.I dont see no reason to fine them. If anything, you should want to support them, Anthony said Thursday. I dont know details, but dont see a reason to fine them.?A bunch of teams did it and individuals did it. Everybody has their own freedom of speech. If they decide to use the platforms to do that, I dont see any reasons for anybody to get fined. We did it. The NBA did it two years ago. The NBA was very supportive. I dont see why it would be different this time. ?WNBA president Lisa Borders said Wednesday night in a statement to The Associated Press that the fines were not about the players speaking out on a social issue.We are proud of WNBA players engagement and passionate advocacy for non-violent solutions to difficult social issues but expect them to comply with the leagues uniform guidelines, Borders said.?Nonetheless, Fever All-Star Tamika Catchings, who is retiring at the end of the season and is the president of the players union, expressed disappointment in the WNBAs actions.Instead of the league taking a stance with us, where they tell us they appreciate our expressing our concerns like they did for Orlando, were fighting against each other, she said, referencing the Orlando nightclub shooting that resulted in 49 deaths.The league was quick to give every team shirts in the wake of the Orlando tragedy in June, and the players wore them.We were OK with that, we wanted to support that, but also they cant pick and choose what initiatives to support and what not to support just because it doesnt push their agenda, Liberty guard Tanisha Wright said. This is important to us.Typical WNBA fines for technical fouls or such are about half the $500 amount the players were fined for wearing the black shirts. WNBA rookies like New Yorks Adut Bulgak make roughly $40,000, so the fine is about 1/80th of a first-year players salary.?The Liberty have worn the plain black shirts four times, including Wednesday morning against Washington. They didnt wear them on Thursday in their matinee game against the Fever, opting for their normal black shirts with the Liberty logo. Tina Charles did wear her warm-up shirt inside out.After seeing the African-American male shot three times after helping an autistic person out this morning in Florida, I knew I couldnt be silent, Charles said after the Liberty lost to the Fever. Knowing the player I am representing this organization, if anybody was going to wear it, it had to be me. I have no problem wearing this shirt inside out for the rest of the season until we are able to have the WNBA support us.In a show of solidarity, the Liberty and Fever chose to speak after the game only about social awareness, politely declining any questions about Thursdays contest.Charles is looking forward to discussing future actions at the Olympics, where shell have a chance to talk with her teammates on the womens national team and NBA players on the U.S. mens team.Being able to see how they feel and what they want to do, coming collectively together, Charles said. Seeing the other 11 WNBA teams, how we basically just did a media blackout, if they are up for doing the same thing.The Washington Mystics followed the Liberty and Fevers lead after playing the Los Angeles Sparks on Friday night.We definitely wanted to show our support for those teams that did get fined for wearing just plain black Adidas shirts, Mystics guard Natasha Cloud said, according to USA Today. Were allowed to wear whatever we want to the games, to and from the games, so if theyre going to take away our right and our voice to advocate for something so important to 70 percent of the league which is African-American, well find other ways to do it, and other ways to do it is to wear our shirts to and from the game and use the media to [express ourselves].NBA players previously have taken a stand in support of victims of police brutality without being fined. LeBron James and Derrick Rose wore I Cant Breathe shirts in honor of a Staten Island man who died after police placed him a choke hold in 2014. NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement after the players wore the shirts that he supported the players for expressing their personal views but preferred they adhere to on-court attire rules.No NBA players wore the I Cant Breathe shirts after Silvers statements.The WNBA fined players after they ignored a league memo earlier this week to the teams reminding them of the uniform policy. The memo was sent out after Minnesota, New York and Dallas players wore shirts in remembrance of two men who were shot by police and the five Dallas police officers who were killed in an attack on July 7.The Lynx wore their shirts only once and said they will shift their focus to addressing the issue in other ways. After wearing shirts with #BlackLivesMatter and #Dallas5 for one game, the Liberty reached what the players said was a compromise, wearing plain black shirts bearing only the Adidas logo. For now they are back to wearing their normal warm-ups.The league will go on a monthlong Olympic hiatus beginning Saturday, but January said players will continue to actively engage in the social discussion.I think theres a lot of people in our league who are very passionate about it. As a player rep we are going to continue having these conversations, she said. The timing of them releasing the statement and giving us the papers was very timely on their part.Information from ESPNs Ian Begley and The Associated Press was used in this report. Adidas NMD Mens NZ . Ibaka equaled a career high with 20 rebounds, adding four blocked shots and 15 points as the Thunder smothered the Milwaukee Bucks offence in a 92-79 victory Saturday night. Adidas Falcon Shoes NZ . 31, the CFL club announced Monday. The team also has yet to decide on the future of Doug Berry, who began the season as a consultant to the head coach but took over the offensive co-ordinators duties in July. http://www.nmdshoesnz.com/adidas-continental-80-cheap-nz.html . Ferrer, trying to win his fourth title on Mexican soil, will next play South Africas Kevin Anderson, who eliminated American Sam Querrey,7-6 (2), 6-4. Also Wednesday, Gilles Simon (6) of France beat Donald Young of the United States 6-4, 6-3, Ukraines Alexandr Dolgopolov downed Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 6-4 and Croatias Ivo Karlovic defeated Dudi Sela of Israel 7-6 (4), 6-2. NMD XR1 NZ . The team said Saturday that Lopez was hurt during its 121-120 overtime loss at Philadelphia on Friday. The Nets said they would issue another update next week after consultation with their doctors. Adidas NMD R1 New Zealand . -- Gus Malzahn finally had his day in Fayetteville. ARLINGTON, Va. -- The gangs almost entirely back for the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins and Presidents Trophy-winning Washington Capitals, Steven Stamkos re-upped with the Tampa Bay Lightning and the retooled Florida Panthers look ready for their close up.Get ready for a competitive race among those four teams in the Eastern Conference. Throw a healthy Carey Price back in net for the Montreal Canadiens and they could challenge, too, especially if defenseman Shea Weber fits well after a stunning summer trade from Nashville for P.K. Subban.Of course, it starts and ends with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and the Penguins.Theyre the Stanley Cup champs, theyre the No. 1, Capitals right winger Justin Williams said. Theyre the team to beat until somebody knocks them off.Pittsburgh was the best team in the playoffs last spring, going through the New York Rangers, Capitals, Lightning and San Jose Sharks to win the fourth Cup in franchise history. Washington was the best team in the regular season, 11 points ahead of the next-closest team, and is again the Metropolitan Division favorite.Here are some things to watch in the East:SUNSHINE STATE HOCKEYDont look now but two of the best young defensemen in hockey are playing in Florida: Aaron Ekblad for the Panthers and Victor Hedman for the Lightning. The Panthers have Finnish standout Aleksander Barkov and a real chance to win the Atlantic Division. Florida also added defensemen Keith Yandle and Jason Demers as part of its makeover and could take the next step after a surprise playoff appearance.Some of the guys we signed in the offseason gave us some more speed, a little more offense, president of hockey operations Dale Tallon said. Weve had two winning seasons in a row and weve made the playoffs and I think the fact that we got beat in the first round will be a motivating factor.OVECHKIN WATCHAlex Ovechkin led the NHL with 50 goals last season and isnt showing any signs of slowing down at age 31. He and the Capitals still havent won the Cup, and with several key players set to be free agents, this could be their best and last chance.ddddddddddddWashington isnt just Ovechkin, as Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender Braden Holtby and all-star centers Evgeny Kuznetsov and Nicklas Backstrom are all at the top of their games. More regular-season dominance should follow, but the playoffs are always the question.PRICE IS RIGHTAfter missing most of last season with a knee injury, a healthy Price is a welcome sight for the Canadiens. Price looked back to his old self winning the World Cup of Hockey with Canada, which general manager Marc Bergevin said puts everyones mind at ease, even our fans. The 2015 Hart, Vezina and Pearson winner is good enough to carry the Canadiens to the playoffs on his shoulders.NEW YORK, NEW YORKThe Islanders got deeper by adding wingers Andrew Ladd, Jason Chimera and P.A. Parenteau and defenseman Dennis Seidenberg. The Rangers got younger by signing college free agent Jimmy Vesey and trading for Mika Zibanejad. John Tavares and the Islanders are looking to build off their longest playoff run in 23 years in their second season in Brooklyn. Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers are trying to stay at the top because the elite goalie isnt getting any younger.MATTHEWS MANIATop pick Auston Matthews is immediately the face of the Toronto Maple Leafs under coach Mike Babcock. Itll be a while before Toronto is a playoff contender, but Matthews at 18 was a man among men playing professionally in Switzerland and looked comfortable against elite competition at the World Cup at 19.Hes shown that hes going to be responsible on both sides of the puck, has a great sense of how to use his body on the ice, said Edmonton Oilers coach Todd McLellan, who had Matthews for Team North America at the World Cup. Hes a big man that protects pucks well. Hes able to use speed when he needs it.---Follow Stephen Whyno on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/SWhyno ' ' '