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. Custom Dodgers Jerseys . JOHNS, N. Custom Dodgers T-shirts . The 29-year-old from Port Colborne, Ont., has nothing but good things to say about former U.S. marine Liz (Girlrilla) Carmouche ahead of their co-main event Wednesday on the UFCs "Fight for the Troops" televised card in Fort Campbell, Ky. http://www.customdodgersjersey.com/custom-babe-herman-jersey-large-79w.html .875,000, avoiding arbitration. Clippards deal Monday means all eight Nationals players who filed for arbitration wound up settling before a hearing. Wholesale Custom Dodgers Shirts .B. -- The Baie-Comeau Drakkar took over sole possession of first place atop the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League on Thursday with their sixth straight win. Cheap Custom Dodgers Jersey .com) - Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Roger Federer were easy first-round winners Tuesday at the Australian Open.From Munsters storied win in 2006 to Leinsters European reversal in Croke Park in 2009, Alan Quinlan shares his memories of both contests and a seminal encounter in 1998... Leinster versus Munster was always a big game in the calendar and youd have a spring in your step the week of the match.Our goal in 1998 would have been to be the best Irish province, year-on-year, and we took a big step towards that in the final game of the inter-pro series. 1998: Leinster 10-25 Munster Alan Quinlan breaks through the Leinster line This is the one that stands out because we had to beat Leinster and win on points difference to lift the inter-pro. There must have been around 5,000 people at the game in Donnybrook, which was nowhere near 80,000 people who would come later. But it was the start of a journey, building towards a team that could compete in Europe and eventually win Europe.Professionalism was still very new but there was a great rivalry in the inter-pros. Id gone to games as a kid and had played for Munster Youths so I understood the history associated with the fixture. But these games always felt like a final trial too because if you played well you could progress up the line to play for Ireland. Id been working as a car mechanic for five-and-a-half years so it was a dream come true to be getting paid for playing rugby.Myself, David Wallace and Anthony Foley were all starting out then, John Hayes was coming through along with more established players like Killian Keane, John Lacey and Peter Clohessy.We had played in Dooradoyle earlier in the season and there was about 300 at the game. Leinster beat us and this was the return fixture.It was always the same when we played Leinster - if we got the better of them up front we had a chance. They had a quality backline and pace but we finished with the trophy.2006: Leinster 6-30 Munster Ronan OGara cuts through a tired Leinster defence to score Losing to Leinster in the Celtic League final in 2001 was a big disappointment for us and the rivalry really started to escalate because now it was tied up with winning big trophies, so that Celtic League loss was a painful defeat.It was all building to 2006 which was a unique occasion but I didnt get to play.I suffered a cruciate ligament injury at the start of the season but I was with group and in the hotel the night before the game.I remember the bus from the Radisson in Stillorgan and being blown away by the crowd. It must have been the first time there was 50,000-plus at a Munster v Leinster game.I watched from behind dug-out in old Lansdowne Road. It was phenomenal. Ronan OGara salutes Munsters support after victory over Leinster in Lansdowne Road We felt confident after beatinng Perpignan in the quarter-finals.ddddddddddddNo one expected Leinster to beat Toulouse away 41-35 and we were delighted because we expected to be going to France. To return to Lansdowne felt like a great opportunity for us. It wasnt over-confidence but we sensed an opportunity to get to the final and wed a better chance of beating Leinster in Dublin.We were under no illusions as to how strong the Leinster backline was. They were all top quality, were in the national side and obviously theyd the potential to hurt any team.I knew the biggest threat was their backline and we felt if we could limit opportunities here wed win the game.I think that match ignited the Leinster machine - the result, the amount of Munster people that got tickets, the atmosphere, that we then went on to win it. It was probably a bit of shock and envy.2009: Leinster 25-10 Munster Gordon DArcy squeezes over in the corner to set the tone for the 2009 European Cup semi-final It wasnt all good memories and we didnt go into the 2009 game thinking we should win it. But we had beaten Leinster twice already that year, 18-0 in the RDS and 22-5 in Thomond Park.It was an incredible occasion in Croke Park but we were just stuck in the ground, caught cold and they produced a brilliant performance. Brian ODriscoll scores a breakaway try that put an end to Munsters hope in 2009 It was extra disappointing for me as I ended up missing out on the Lions Tour [after being cited over an incident involving Leo Cullen].It wasnt just the disappointment of losing the game, there was a bigger situation at play for me and the result lost its significance. It was harder to take that I was now a doubt for South Africa.For Leinster, they avenged what happened in 2006 and it was a kick-start for them to go on.Watch Leinster v Munster live on Sky Sports 3 HD on Saturday from 5pm. Catch the match for £6.99 on NOW TV. No contract. Also See: PRO12 try of the month PRO12 highlights PRO12 table Rugby Union on Sky ' ' '