New Indiana Fever star Brianna Turner shares family's harsh history with KKK in passionate statement

The Indiana Fever were busy this offseason, making trades and signing free agents to retool their roster around superstar Caitlin Clark as she enters her second WNBA season. One of their additions was veteran Brianna Turner, who signed a one-year, $85,000 deal with the team. Turner, reflecting on her challenging journey in her career and life, shared a tough memory about her family and the KKK.

Turner is entering her seventh season in the WNBA after being drafted with the 11th pick in 2019 and traded to the Phoenix Mercury on draft night. She spent five years with the Mercury, making two All-Defensive teams while she was there. After spending last year with the Chicago Sky, Turner joined the Fever, joining fellow free agent additions DeWanna Bonner and Natasha Howard.

The new Fever forward took to Twitter to share her family's history with the KKK on Saturday morning, responding to a post from Dr. Allison Wiltz, a writer and editor focusing on topics like race and gender. Turner shared a story about the KKK burning a cross on her grandmother's lawn, saying that she uses the story as fuel to continue to be great as a black athlete.

Turner's story is unfortunately one of many shared by African Americans about the harsh treatment they endured from the KKK. Racism still abounds in the U.S., but professional sports leagues do their best to solve these problems, both in their leagues and the communities in which they play.

Fever guard Brianna Turner was in disbelief when Trump was named president

When it was announced that Donald Trump was returning to the Oval Office after winning the 2024 presidential election, reactions across the country were mixed. Turner expressed her shock on X, where she questioned how her country would be viewed around the world.

"Will society look back on current U.S. politics as a comedy or a tragedy? IDK if I’m supposed to laugh or cry whenever I read/ watch about the antics of the U.S. government”

The WNBA exemplifies how a professional sports league should be managed, continually progressing alongside its male counterpart. Both the WNBA and NBA are lauded as places of equality, where some of the best athletes in the world can compete in a fair and supportive environment.