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NEW YORK -- WNBA President Lisa Borders applauds the leagues players for taking a stance on social issues. She just wishes the activism was kept off the court.The New York, Phoenix and Indiana teams and players were fined this week for wearing black warmup shirts that addressed the recent shooting by and against police. WNBA rules state that uniforms may not be altered in any way.Borders spent the past two weeks talking with the union and its executive council, trying to come up with ways that both the league and its players could constructively address the Black Lives Matters movement. Nothing concrete was decided.We were making every effort to engage our players, she told The Associated Press by phone Friday night. We made an effort to support them and we were trying to get them to come to the table to have a conversation. The players have an open invitation with the league.Our players are important to us. We believe in them. We want them to be the people they are and were proud of them. We want to make sure they play well on the court and they are happy off the court.Right now, the players arent happy.On social media and in postgame interviews, players are showing their solidarity after the league fined the Liberty, Mercury and Fever players $500 each this week for wearing plain black warmup shirts that violated the leagues uniform policy. The normal fine for a uniform violation is $200. Each team also was fined $5,000.The Rev. Al Sharpton said Saturday his organization, the National Action Network, will pay the $500 fines. He called the penalty unacceptable.Washington Mystics players had shirts saying Black Lives Matters in the locker room after their game Friday night. Seattle Storm and Minnesota Lynx players tweeted out pictures of their teams wearing black shirts featuring a Martin Luther King Jr. quote before their game. They didnt wear those shirts on the court to avoid getting fined.Were sick and tired of waking up every morning and seeing something like this (shootings) happen, Mystics player Ivory Latta said after her team played its final game before the Olympic break. We need change and we have a platform to speak. Dont tell us we have a platform and then you penalize us for our platform for speaking and showing our actions. Thats not right.Borders, on the job for four months, disagreed with the notion that the league was suppressing its players voices.We want the players to know that we have supported them in the past, support them today and will continue to support them in the future, she said. Were not trying to stop them from expressing themselves.The league just doesnt want them to do it on the court if it violates the WNBA uniform rules. The shirts that the players were fined for wearing were the Adidas brand -- the official outfitter of the league.The Adidas black shirts are not regulation, Borders said. They are sponsor appropriate, but the Adidas plain black shirt would not be a regulation-issued shirt.The union felt it was unnecessary for the league to issue a memo this week reminding the players of the uniform policy. Because of that memo, the players and union werent surprised by the fine. They were just disappointed.This isnt about a shirt, but that was the starting point, Terri Jackson, the new operations director of the WNBA Players Association, told the AP. The players want to blog about (Black Lives Matter), tweet about it, do videos. They want to raise visibility and keep the conversation going. They dont want this to die out.Jackson said the unions legal team is looking into what it can do about the fines, which she called excessive. She said the union proposed letting the players have a limited time to express their opinions on the court.We talked about doing it pregame at the 10-minute mark or the 15-minute mark and theyd go back and put on their regulation warmup. Wear the regulation warmups for the national anthem and life goes on. That was declined by the league.While the league begins its monthlong break Saturday, its top players will be playing in Rio at the Olympics. U.S. coach Geno Auriemma said he was proud of their social activism.I respect Tina (Charles) and the players in the WNBA for their concern and their voices and the passion that they have and for their beliefs. I really do, he said, citing the former UConn player and Liberty star for wearing her warmup shirt inside-out before Thursdays game. Im really proud of some of my former players and the way theyve stepped forward and spoken their conscience and express their feelings.The league was still undecided on whether Charles would be fined.Auriemma said if players take actions at the Olympics it would be a difficult balancing act.As far as USA Basketball is concerned, you know, thats a very delicate subject, he said. Obviously each player has an opportunity to be who they want and say what they feel, but at the same time, you are representing the United States of America, and you are part of the Olympic team. ... Im sure itll come up, and well have to deal with it.He said the matter would largely fall to U.S. Olympic and basketball authorities.Both the league and the union hope for constructive conversations during the break. Borders said shell be in Rio for two weeks and will participate in the monthly conference call between the two groups on Aug. 1. She missed the call on July 11 when the shirts initially were discussed.I love this league and its players. Id never do anything to harm the league, franchises or players, Borders said. I want them to understand were here to support them. Weve hit a bump in a road. This too shall pass. Cheap Air Jordan 1 Authentic . -- Team after team passed on Andre Ellington in the draft. Cheap Air Jordan 1 USA . No. 13-seeded John Isner and No. 21 Philipp Kohlschreiber were among six players who dropped out of the tournament on Tuesday, joining No. 12 seed Tommy Haas and two other players who withdrew on Monday. http://www.wholesaleairjordan1.com/ . Clarke was injured while practicing on the Doha Golf Club range after the pro-am on Tuesday. The Northern Irishman arrived at the course on Wednesday hoping to start, but after hitting a few balls on the practice putting green Clarke advised officials he was not fit to play. Wholesale Air Jordan 1 For Sale . "We have always prided ourselves on the way we play defence. Having two big pieces back is going to be a key for us moving forward for years to come," said Knighthawks head coach Mike Hasen. Discount Air Jordan 1 Shoes . Arsenal failed to take full advantage of its main rivals stumbles on Saturday as substitute Gerard Deulofeu levelled with a hard shot from a tight angle in the 84th minute to give Everton a deserved point. Ahead of a crucial fortnight that will see them play against Napoli in the Champions League, Manchester City and Chelsea, Arsenal leads by five points ahead of Liverpool and Chelsea. SEATTLE -- As a younger player, Harold Baines and Edgar Martinez were among the hitters David Ortiz looked up to as examples. So its not lost on Ortiz that he has now passed both to become baseballs all-time leader in hits as a designated hitter. "Wonderful hitters and when I first came up watching those guys," Ortiz said. "Now for your name to get mentioned next to theirs, its a wonderful thing." Ortiz doubled in his first at-bat to pass Baines for the most hits as a DH and hit a two-run homer an inning later, leading the Boston Red Sox to an 11-4 win over the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday night. Ortiz entered the night tied with Baines with 1,688 hits as a DH, and was acknowledged by a standing ovation from the mix of Red Sox and Mariners fans when he doubled to left-centre field to lead off the second inning. An inning later, Ortiz collected his eighth hit of the series with a two-run homer off Seattle starter Aaron Harang (4-8), his 19th this season. "There is nothing that guy does that amazes me. He goes out there every day and is so consistent that you almost expect it. You kind of feel bad whenever he goes 0 for 4 and youre like, Come on man, are you kidding me?" Boston catcher Jared Saltalamacchia said. "But thats how good he is and how consistent hes been in his career." Jacoby Ellsbury had three hits to extend his hitting streak to 18 games, currently the best in baseball, and the Red Sox knocked around Harang for seven runs and eight hits. Ortiz appeared touched by the ovation as he rumbled into second with the standup double. He tipped his helmet twice toward the standing fans and patting his chest as his milestone was shown on the video board. Ortiz already held the marks for the most runs scored, doubles, home runs, extra-base hits and RBIs by a designated hitter. "The fans, they looked forward to that. They look forward to watch guys breaking records and getting to a certain level," Ortiz said. "They really appreciated it." Ortiz scored in the second on Saltalamacchias sacrifice fly, then provided the big blow in the third with a two-out, two-run homer to right-centre field, his second straight game going deep. "Ive seen too much of him over the years," Seattle manager Eric Wedge said. "He is about as professional a hitter as you can be. Still has the bat speed, still has the power, commands the strike zone as good as anybody in the game.dddddddddddd" Boston broke the game open in the sixth and knocked out Harang after singles by Jose Iglesias and Brock Holt to open the inning. Ellsbury and Shane Victorino both had RBI singles in the four-run inning that was helped along by a throwing error from Seattle shortstop Brad Miller. After Seattle held a 5-1 lead after two innings in Tuesdays game, the Red Sox have outscored the Mariners 21-7 in the following 16 innings. Ortizs milestone night overshadowed one of the best starts this season by Bostons Felix Doubront. With its bullpen taxed in the opening two games of the series, Doubront (6-3) provided the outing Boston needed to give its relievers a rest. Doubront took a shutout into the seventh and silenced a Seattle offence that scored 19 runs against Boston pitching in the first two games of the series. He allowed only a pair of early singles, and a double to Michael Saunders -- the first Seattle batter to reach second base -- in the fifth. Seattle finally got to Doubront in the seventh when Jason Bay led off with a double and scored on Henry Blancos two-out single. But that was the extent of Seattles offence against the lefty. Doubront won his second straight start after going more than a month without a victory. It was the third time this season Doubront has allowed one earned run or less, and just the second time hes finished seven innings. Doubront struck out six and walked two. "Well take a strong outing off a starting pitcher every night that we walk in here," Boston manager John Farrell said. "I think the biggest thing is he continued to put up zeroes after we scored runs and that kept the momentum on our side." Notes: Seattle SS Brendan Ryan led off the eighth with a solo homer off Bostons Brandon Workman, making his major league debut. Seattle scored three times in the inning. ... Ellsbury returned after missing the first two games of the series with a sore wrist. ... Seattle RHP Stephen Pryor (60-day DL, lat muscle), threw a 25-pitch simulated game on Wednesday and will do the same on Saturday. Wedge said OFs Michael Morse (quad) and Franklin Gutierrez (hamstring) are not yet ready to go out on rehab assignments. ... Farrell said RHP Alex Wilson, placed on the 15-day DL Tuesday, has joint inflammation in his thumb, but the injury is not as serious as first believed. ' ' '