Las Vegas Aces list notes on Breonna Taylor’s death, anti-LGBTQ bills as ‘key stats’ in game recaps

Similar to other teams around the WNBA, the Las Vegas Aces publish game recaps on the team’s official website following each of their contests. The Aces take a unique approach to their recaps, however, as they feature notes about the death of Breonna Taylor and the ACLU’s tracking of anti-LGBTQ+ bills in their ‘key stats’ section, and have been doing so for quite some time.

Prior to noting any actual key stats from the game at hand, the Aces have a paragraph about Taylor being “murdered” while reminding readers that a new trial involving the officers involved in her death is set for October 2024. The next paragraph lists the number of anti-LGBTQ+ bills the ACLU is tracking in the United States as of that specific date.

In the Aces’ most recent game recap, an 85-74 win over the Connecticut Sun on June 21, the ‘key stats’ begin with “It has been 1,561 days since Breaonna Taylor was murdered” followed by a note on the “523 anti-LGBTQ+ bills in the United States.”

OutKick has reached out to the Aces for comment, and if one is provided, the story will be updated.

Taylor was shot and killed in Louisville, Kentucky on March 13, 2020, and the Aces have included a note about her death as a ‘key stat’ in each of their game recaps since the start of their 2020 campaign. The team’s first game following Taylor’s death was on July 26, 2020, a contest that was held in the WNBA ‘bubble’ due to the pandemic. The ‘key stats’ from the team’s game on July 26 began with, “It has been 135 days since Breonna Taylor was murdered.”

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The WNBA devoted the 2020 season to “the fight against systemic racism and police brutality with a focus on women victims” with teams wearing warm-up shirts with ‘Black Lives Matter’ written across the front of them and jerseys with ‘Breonna Taylor’ on the back.

The Aces specifically stating that Taylor was “murdered” is worth noting. While the 26-year-old’s death was an absolute tragedy, no officers involved in her death have been charged with murder. The United States Department of Justice defines murder as “the unlawful killing of a human being with malice” which indicates “intention” to commit an unlawful act.

As for the Aces adding a note about the ACLU’s tracking of anti-LGBTQ+ bills, it appears they first introduced that ‘key stat’ in a game recap on June 4, 2023. The team announced nine days later that it had joined with a number of LGBTQ+ partners to host a Pride Night during an upcoming game that season.

The Aces appear to be the only team in the WNBA to feature notes about Taylor’s death and anti-LGBTQ+ bills in their game recaps.