{"id":42611,"date":"2026-08-13T06:54:40","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T01:54:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=42611"},"modified":"2026-08-13T06:54:40","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T01:54:40","slug":"wnba-denounces-bad-faith-transgender-debate-says-league-has-no-eligibility-issues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=42611","title":{"rendered":"WNBA denounces \u2018bad-faith\u2019 transgender debate, says league has no eligibility issues"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/twt-thumbs.washtimes.com\/media\/image\/2026\/08\/06\/Fever_Lynx_Basketball_65117_s1440x960.jpg?f72536d07237fdd262042ae8f5e6e6de3b865f3c\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The WNBA on Wednesday criticized those trying to create a narrative about transgender women playing in the league.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are no immediate eligibility matters affecting the WNBA, and we strongly denounce the bad-faith efforts to use these topics to demean or marginalize others,\u201d a league spokesperson said Wednesday in a statement, hours after an anti-hate task force met virtually and discussed a variety of topics, including social media vitriol and transgender athletes.<\/p>\n<p>The league\u2019s collective bargaining agreement states that \u201conly players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA,\u201d but it does not include any more specific language about gender identity or sex assigned at birth. Last Friday, two former NBA players, Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White, declared themselves eligible for the WNBA draft, saying they identify as women.<\/p>\n<p>The draft isn\u2019t until next April.<\/p>\n<p>There has never been a transgender woman \u2014 a person assigned male at birth who transitions to align with their gender identity \u2014 on a WNBA roster. There have been players in the league who were assigned female at birth and later came out as transgender or nonbinary.<\/p>\n<p>The anti-hate committee was formed last year to deal with hateful and abusive online comments directed at players and the league.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cToday\u2019s meeting covered a wide range of topics, including ongoing discussions on transgender athletes and the continued hate and vitriol directed at players online,\u201d the WNBA statement said. \u201cWe will continue to engage all league stakeholders in the coming weeks and months. We will approach these important conversations thoughtfully and in alignment with the values of our league.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside>\n<\/aside>\n<p>WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert sent a memo last Friday to team presidents and general managers saying the league would discuss the subject of transgender women in women\u2019s basketball.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe recognize that this is a complex and nuanced topic, and we will continue to have important conversations with all of you and the Players Association in the weeks and months ahead,\u201d Engelbert said in the memo. \u201cWe also plan to convene additional discussions and offer listening sessions for any team leaders who would like to participate. Your perspectives and feedback are invaluable, and I appreciate those who have already reached out to share their thoughts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In an ESPN article published last month, Indiana Fever player Sophie Cunningham voiced support for barring transgender girls and women from girls\u2019 and women\u2019s sports. Cunningham\u2019s comments sparked small rallies and protests in Seattle and Portland when the Fever were on the road last week.<\/p>\n<p>Some WNBA players and coaches have come out in support of transgender athletes, including Seattle Storm center Stefanie Dolson and Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need to protect trans kids,\u201d Reeve said on Aug. 1. \u201cTo me, it\u2019s a human rights issue. Every kid has a right to sports.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Many players have declined to comment on the subject.<\/p>\n<p>                        <a name=\"pagebreak\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"permission\" style=\"padding-top: 25px;\">\n<p>Copyright \u00a9 2026 The Washington Times, LLC.\n                        <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The WNBA on Wednesday criticized those trying to create a narrative about transgender women playing in the league. \u201cThere are no immediate eligibility matters affecting the WNBA, and we strongly denounce the bad-faith efforts to use these topics to demean or marginalize others,\u201d a league spokesperson said Wednesday in a statement, hours after an anti-hate&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42612,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/twt-thumbs.washtimes.com\/media\/image\/2026\/07\/25\/WNBA_All_Star_Basketball_95855_c0-198-4756-2972_s1200x700.jpg?ec08541288db175d82fa6b9526c910ce38348c63","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42611","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42611","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=42611"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42611\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/42612"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=42611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=42611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=42611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}