Protest is the act of telling the truth in public.Some have chosen to tell the truth with their bodies -- by standing in and shutting down streets, by participating in or leading rallies and marches, or in other forms of direct action -- with the express function of disrupting the normalcy of everyday life that allows some to ignore inequity, racism and injustice.On?July 5, Alton Sterling was killed by two white Baton Rouge?police officers. The very next day, Minnesota officers killed?Philando Castile, which?was livestreamed on Facebook by his girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds. Both deaths led to sustained protests across the country.?Sterling and Castile were killed two years after the Black Lives Matter movement began in Ferguson, Missouri, leading to sustained unrest nationwide.It is in this context that the Minnesota Lynx chose to tell the truth in public.On July 10, the Minnesota Lynx wore black warm-up shirts that read, Change starts with us -- Justice & Accountability?on the front?and had the names of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling on the back, along with the statement Black Lives Matter.The truth is that Castile and Sterling should be alive today. They should be with their families, preparing for the holiday. But they are not. They were victims of a system of police violence that continues to plague this nation, victims of systemic inequity and racism that black people and other people of color have confronted for centuries in this America.In wearing the T-shirts, the Minnesota Lynx joined a long tradition of athletes willing to risk the comfort of their position to push public consciousness to confront uncomfortable truths. On the night they wore these shirts, four off-duty officers left their posts?working security at the game in response to the Lynxs stance. The police seemed more upset by a display of grief than they were by the injustice of the murder of two men.The Lynxs move led to three other WNBA teams joining in protest: the Indiana Fever, New York Liberty and Phoenix Mercury. Afterward, the teams were fined $5,000, along with each player being fined $500, as the WNBA noted that the T-shirts violated the uniform policy.The WNBA issued a statement noting that it was proud of WNBA players engagement and passionate advocacy for non-violent solutions to difficult social issues, but this didnt deter the players. They staged media blackouts and asked fans to join them by wearing black in solidarity. Carmelo Anthony became one of the most prominent athletes to support the WNBA players, calling the fines into question.The pursuit of change follows many paths, but it begins with awareness; it begins with a willingness to discuss our most uncomfortable truths in public, to use the public space to build momentum, allowing us to enact the change that our lives deserve. In their act of protest, they inspired athletes across the league and continued to demonstrate what we know to be true: that how we think about the world impacts how we live in it.I think about all the days in the street that I spent in protest alongside so many others in Ferguson, Baltimore, Minneapolis and Baton Rouge. In these cities, the common thread was that there was a willingness to challenge the status quo, to disrupt the complacency and timidity that allows injustice to continue to fester. We were willing to endure the consequences of refusing to be silent because we knew that the seductiveness of silence had dire consequences.In the end, the WNBA lifted the fines for the teams.When we tell the truth in public, we force those who depend on the status quo to respond, we force systems and structures to demonstrate in real-time their commitment to our struggles, to our lives, and to a future that is one of equity and justice. In all, when we tell the truth in public we expose the values of the very institutions that claim that they exist for our well-being. In this case, the WNBA fell on the right side of justice.The Minnesota Lynx made an impact in taking a stand, and their act invited others to the work of social justice. I am proud to stand alongside them in the struggle.More on Minnesota Lynx? Minnesota Lynx wear shirts raising awareness of recent shootings Story ?? Minneapolis cops leave security posts at Lynx game over shirts?Story ?? Carmelo Anthony supports WNBA players upset by T-shirt fines?Story ?The IMPACT25 is espnWs annual list of the 25 athletes and influencers who have made the greatest difference for women in sports. Explore the 2016 list and more content at espnW.com/IMPACT25. Max Kepler Twins Jersey . -- Jimmie Johnson held off a teammate, passed a pair of Hall of Famers, and dominated once more at Dover. Minnesota Twins Jerseys . The phone hearing is scheduled for 4:30pm et/1:30pm pt. 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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. --?Tennessee?will again be without injured linebackers Jalen Reeves-Maybin and Darrin Kirkland Jr.?when the ninth-ranked Volunteers play at?Texas A&M?on Saturday.Vols coach Butch Jones said Wednesday that Reeves-Maybin wouldnt play against the eighth-ranked Aggies (5-0, 3-0 SEC). On Wednesday night, Jones said on his Vol Calls radio show that Kirkland also would be sidelined for the Texas A&M game.Reeves-Maybin, a team captain who led the Volunteers in tackles last season, has been dealing with a shoulder injury. Reeves-Maybin missed the entirety of a 34-31 victory at Georgia last week, and he also sat out the majority of tthe Vols triumphs over Ohio and Florida.ddddddddddddWe continue to try to gather information for him and further evaluation to see whats in his best interest, short-term [and] long-term, Jones said.This will mark the fourth straight game that Kirkland has missed due to a high ankle sprain. Tennessee (5-0, 2-0) also continues to play without cornerback Cam Sutton, who fractured his ankle in the Ohio game.Jones said the status of running back Jalen Hurd is day-to-day. Jones said Hurd has a lower-extremity injury. ' ' '