Brianna Turner: Fever fired a male employee for sexual harassment, players encouraged to keep quiet

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CHICAGO (AP) — Brianna Turner said on social media that her former team, the Indiana Fever, fired a male employee last season for sexual harassment. Turner, who was with Indiana last season but now plays for the Las Vegas Aces, also said Fever players were encouraged not to discuss the firing.

The Fever put out a statement Thursday that didn't directly address Turner's comments.

“Protecting our players and employees and maintaining a respectful, professional workplace is our top priority,” the Fever said. “Our policy is to take concerns seriously, investigate thoroughly, and act promptly when appropriate to protect the people in our organization and ensure everyone is treated with professionalism and respect. Fostering trust and safety in that process means we do not comment on personnel matters involving former employees.”

Turner’s comments were part of a series of posts she made in defense of transgender athletes.

"To date there’s been one out trans player in the league. They caused zero problems,” Turner wrote in the posts on X on Wednesday. “An issue that has caused problems though? Last year on my WNBA team a male staff member was fired for sexual harassment, but we were encouraged to keep quiet about it. That is an issue."

She didn't provide details of the firing.

Turner’s comments came after a former teammate, Fever guard Sophia Cunningham, had also weighed in on the issue of transgender athletes competing in women’s sports.

"I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I’m like, ‘I never once said that,’” Cunningham was quoted as saying in a story published this week by ESPN. “I think that I am here to extend love. But I also think with that love is truth, being honest. And I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men."

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball