Fox News has “devoted at least 13 hours and 34 minutes of programming to the WNBA” since June 25, much of which “criticized the league over issues pertaining to race and trans inclusion in women’s sports,” according to Tyler Monroe of MEDIA MATTERS. The coverage started as assertions that Fever G Caitlin Clark “had been targeted for being white, but it has devolved into an argument over trans inclusion in the WNBA, a league which currently has no trans players.” The network has “dedicated more than 8 hours of coverage in the past month to the issue of trans athletes in the WNBA,” airing segments on Fever G Sophie Cunningham, her comments about trans inclusion, and the fallout. Fox News seized on the June 25 foul by Sun F Alyssa Thomas against Clark, “dedicating over 3 hours and 30 minutes of coverage across 62 segments to the foul.” Comments made by Cunningham about “protecting ‘young girls in sports who shouldn’t have to go against biological men’ further amplified Fox’s focus on the WNBA,” sending the network “into a frenzy and prompting over 8 hours of coverage focused on issues regarding trans athletes from July 22 through August 11.” Since July 22, Fox has “dedicated at least 130 segments to discussing the possibility of trans athletes in the WNBA, with at least one segment every day except July 28” (MEDIA MATTERS, 8/13).
