The Minnesota Lynx were faced with the challenge of taking on the Los Angeles Sparks amid the news that two Minnesota politicians were victims of a deadly shooting. Head coach Cheryl Reeve spoke to the media on behalf of the team ahead of their June 14 contest, acknowledging the difficulties of having the tragedy happen so close to the Lynx's community.

“It was tough news for them to hear, being so close to us,” an emotional Reeve began when describing the team's discussion about what had happened. “I asked them to be careful but to use their voices. Now's the time, more than ever.”

Reeve and the Lynx have a long history of using their sports platform to speak out on social issues, even honoring George Floyd on the fifth anniversary of his murder earlier this campaign. She doubled down on Minnesota's position, alongside statements released by the Timberwolves, Vikings, and Twins.

“This is not the time to be afraid. This is the time to stand [up] if you believe in something. And it takes courage to do that,” Reeve continued. “We're professional basketball players, but we also are members of our community, and now's the time to use our voices.”

Lynx star and MVP favorite Napheesa Collier also spoke on the issue to the media and echoed the message her head coach was trying ot get across.

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“It’s really scary, especially to raise a kid, in an environment like this, where she has less rights than I had growing up, less rights than the people before us, and it's continuing to go down. It looks like it's trending downwards, like it's getting worse,” Collier said. “Especially as athletes, we have a platform, and I think we need to use it to speak out against things like this.

“This is not politics. This is life and morality and human rights, reproductive rights, women's rights,” Collier concluded decisively. “I think it's really important to stand up for and fight against these things.”

A man posing as a police officer shot and killed Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband early Saturday. A second lawmaker, Senator John Hoffman, and his wife were wounded when they were shot multiple times.