WNBA responds to scrutiny over transgender athletes and women’s basketball

Officials say the league’s policies remain focused on inclusion while addressing concerns from players and teams.

The WNBA is pushing back against what it calls “bad-faith” efforts to turn transgender participation into a controversy around the league, saying there are no current eligibility cases involving transgender women. The issue follows TheGrio coverage of Dawn Staley’s support for transgender players and President Donald Trump’s move to bar transgender women from women’s sports. The WNBA transgender debate is now part of broader anti-hate discussions.

The league issued its statement Wednesday after its anti-hate committee met virtually to discuss online abuse, social media vitriol and transgender athletes.

AP reported that the WNBA said there are “no immediate eligibility matters affecting the WNBA” and condemned attempts to use the subject to “demean or marginalize others.”

The league’s collective bargaining agreement says only players who are women are eligible to compete in the WNBA, but it does not contain more detailed language addressing gender identity or sex assigned at birth.

No transgender woman has ever appeared on a WNBA roster. The league has had players who were assigned female at birth and later identified as transgender or nonbinary.

The discussion intensified after former NBA players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White said Friday that they identify as women and declared themselves eligible for the WNBA draft. The next draft is in April.

Commissioner Cathy Engelbert sent team presidents and general managers a memo that day saying the league would discuss transgender women in women’s basketball and offer listening sessions for team leaders.

The issue has also drawn different views from people inside the sport. Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham recently supported excluding transgender girls and women from girls’ and women’s sports. Her comments were followed by small protests during Fever road games in Seattle and Portland.

Seattle Storm center Stefanie Dolson and Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve have publicly supported transgender athletes. Reeve called it a human rights issue and said every child has a right to sports.

The WNBA transgender debate comes as the league is already confronting harassment directed at players online. Its anti-hate committee was created last year to address abusive and hateful commentary.

For now, the WNBA says there is no active transgender-player eligibility issue to resolve. League officials say they will continue speaking with players, teams and the players’ association while trying to keep the conversation from being used to marginalize others.