Several NBA and WNBA teams will auction off signed warm-up shirts to raise money for the Daunte Wright Memorial Fund.
According to Bleacher Report, players from the Minnesota Timberwolves, Minnesota Lynx, Brooklyn Nets, Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat will auction off their “WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL” shirts and proceeds will go to the family of 20-year-old Wright, who was fatally shot by a Brooklyn Center, Minnesota police officer during a traffic stop on April 11. Players for the Timberwolves wore their warm-up shirts prior to their games against the Bucks, Nets and Heat last week.
Players for the Lynx have not gotten an opportunity to wear their shirts yet, due to the fact that their season doesn’t start until May. However, 15 players and coaches signed shirts for the auction.
A total of 64 shirts were available to be auctioned off. The starting bid for each shirt was priced at $200. As of Monday (April 19), all of the items were sold — with Kevin Durant’s warm-up shirt bringing in the highest amount of money at $1,400. Timberwolves small forward Anthony Edwards’ autographed shirt sold for $1,100.
Wright, a Black man, was fatally shot by Officer Kim Potter during a traffic stop. She said that she meant to use her taser instead of her firearm during the arrest. Last week, Potter was arrested and charged with second-degree manslaughter for his death. She has since been released on bail.
So far, over $920,000 has been raised through the Wright family’s GoFundMe account. The family says none of the money will go towards their legal fees. “All funds raised through this site will go towards covering funeral and burial expenses, mental health and grief counseling for Daunte’s family, to help the Wright family in their fight for justice, and to provide support for family,” read the donation site. “100 percent of the funds raised on this site will go to the Wright family.”