Topline
The WNBA’s progressively heated statement complete transgender athletes has taken an unexpected move involving a French hoops player, Indiana Fever defender and years-old joke from President Donald Trump suggesting NBA prima LeBron James could modulation and predominate the women’s league.
A demonstrator protests anterior to the commencement of the WNBA crippled betwixt the Indiana Fever and Minnesota Lynx astatine Target Center connected Aug. 2, 2026 successful Minneapolis. Sophie Cunningham of the Fever, seen successful a poster successful the background, has precocious taken power for saying she opposes transgender women successful the league.
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Key Facts
Indiana Fever prima Sophie Cunningham drew renewed attraction to the rumor of transgender women successful sports past period pinch a telephone to "protect young girls" successful locker rooms that later drew praise from the White House.
White House property caput Karoline Leavitt said the rumor is 1 “the president feels powerfully about,” and slammed group who were captious of Cunningham’s remarks.
This week, the communicative took connected caller life erstwhile a years-old Trump remark connected the WNBA went viral connected X and French hoops subordinate Julie Tétart was dragged into the statement by Fox News-owned sports outlet OutKick.
Tétart, a 34-year-old transgender female who plays for Monaco in second-tier French women's hoops Ligue 2, responded to a nonstop connection from OutKick this week admitting she’d reply immoderate telephone from the WNBA, but reportedly saying “you person to beryllium realistic: I'm old, and location are acold amended players than me!"
OutKick past published an article slamming the “inclusive” WNBA for not having called up the subordinate aft her dominating play successful France’s 2nd division, Outkick laminitis Clay Travis called the convention "transphobic" connected X, and Tétart has go a lightning rod for transphobic attacks connected the Elon Musk-owned societal media platform.
Key background
The WNBA, players and coaches person mostly been capable to debar the contention astir transgender information successful women’s sports simply because location aren't galore openly transgender women looking to play successful the league. The convention has ne'er made a declaration connected if trans athletes would beryllium allowed to play, but galore individual players person been mostly supportive of the idea—until Cunningham. The Fever guard, who has been described arsenic "MAGA Barbie" online, past period said she wants to "protect women's sports" and doesn't deliberation group calved antheral should beryllium allowed into the league. "I want to protect young girls successful a locker room, aliases young girls successful athletics who shouldn't person to spell against biologic men,” she told ESPN. Her remarks person since triggered rallies some supporting and opposing her astatine WNBA games and respective figures, including Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve and Golden State Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase, person publically pushed backmost connected Cunningham’s position.
WHAT DOES TRUMP HAVE TO DO WITH IT?
Very little, successful position of kicking disconnected the existent controversy. Trump has been vocally against transgender women playing successful women’s sports but, beyond Leavitt confirming he was pursuing the communicative aft Cunningham’s remarks, he hasn’t commented connected that aliases the Tétart drama. But, arsenic those 2 stories person garnered online attention, a comment he made astir the WNBA successful 2022 began circling online. At Turning Point USA’s Student Action Summit successful Florida that July, Trump joked that he would beryllium the top women’s hoops coach ever because he’d simply inquire superstar LeBron James if he had immoderate “desire to beryllium a woman.”
THE WNBA’S LOSE-LOSE
By fundamentally goading Tétart into participating successful the American transgender jock debate, OutKick has group up a lose-lose business for the WNBA. The framing puts the convention successful an awkward position: If it declines to prosecute Tétart, critics (and blimpish news outlets) tin reason that its support for transgender athletes is performative. If the convention does activity her, the aforesaid critics could usage it arsenic grounds that the WNBA is consenting to discuss women's sports for governmental reasons.
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