{"id":594647,"date":"2026-04-10T11:22:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T11:22:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/594647\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T11:22:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T11:22:16","slug":"im-a-wnba-player-dont-use-athletes-like-me-to-exclude-trans-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/594647\/","title":{"rendered":"I’m a WNBA player. Don’t use athletes like me to exclude trans women."},"content":{"rendered":"

I have played basketball for as long as I can remember. The game shaped who I am, gave me opportunities to travel, forge lifelong friendships, and use my platform to advocate for others. Now that spotlight has turned on my teammates and me \u2013 not to celebrate our sport, but to police who belongs.<\/p>\n

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recently announced a binding policy<\/a> requiring every woman who seeks to compete in the Olympics to undergo sex verification testing<\/a>. After years of dedication and preparation, the final hurdle to represent your country should not be proving to a panel of strangers that you are the woman you say you are.<\/p>\n

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This invasive policy effectively bars transgender women and many athletes<\/a> with intersex variations from competing.<\/p>\n

Sex testing of women is not new \u2013 it traces back decades<\/a> and was only formally changed after sustained pressure from medical groups, athletes\u2019 advocates, and the IOC\u2019s own Athletes\u2019 Commission<\/a> following the 1996 Games.<\/p>\n

In 2021, the IOC released a framework<\/a> asserting there is no automatic competitive advantage based on “sex variations, physical appearance, and\/or transgender status.”<\/p>\n

This new mandate abandons that ground-breaking and collaborative framework, ignores established medical and human-rights guidance, and rejects the science that says physical appearance, chromosomes<\/a> or individual traits do not determine athletic performance or success.<\/p>\n

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A trans athlete won. Her peers cheered \u2013 and exposed the truth. | Opinion<\/a><\/p>\n

Singling out trans women creates scapegoats, not safety\"The<\/p>\n

The LA28 Olympic Games cauldron is lit during a ceremonial lighting in Los Angeles, where the LA Summer Games will take place July 14-30, 2028. Ticket sales opened globally April 9, 2026.<\/p>\n

The IOC has a documented history<\/a> of refusing to actually protect women<\/a> in elite sports, and their current invocation of protection does anything but.<\/p>\n

Policies that single out transgender women and athletes with intersex variations do not protect women\u2019s sports. They manufacture a scapegoat while the real challenges to women\u2019s sports go unaddressed: unequal funding<\/a>, limited access to training and facilities<\/a>, pay disparities<\/a>, male-dominated leadership<\/a>, gender-based violence<\/a> and harassment across race, sex, sexual orientation and gender identity.<\/p>\n

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Olympic ban on transgender women stems from fear and feelings, not facts | Opinion<\/a><\/p>\n

Focusing on who should be allowed to call themselves a woman distracts from the structural inequities that actually limit women\u2019s opportunities.<\/p>\n

This policy also invites unequal scrutiny for women who already face heightened suspicion; Black and Brown athletes and competitors from the Global South will be unfairly targeted.<\/p>\n

\"Indiana<\/p>\n

Indiana Fever forward Brianna Turner, left, defends against Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson on Sept. 23, 2025, in Nevada.<\/p>\n

In more than 15 years of organized basketball, I\u2019ve played with and against people who are transgender and undoubtedly people with intersex variations, and I’ve never experienced any unfair advantages. I saw these players as my fellow athletes, not my enemies. We cannot choose our genes or chromosomes, but we can choose how hard we work, how we treat one another and whether we protect the dignity of every athlete.<\/p>\n

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Recently, I spent nearly 10 days at the bargaining table<\/a> with the WNBA Players Association and leadership from the WNBA negotiating a historic collective bargaining agreement<\/a> to advance the professional environment that elite women athletes deserve: higher baseline salaries, meaningful revenue sharing, improved travel and health protections, and family-first roster policies.<\/p>\n

These are the issues that will strengthen our sport \u2013 not invasive scrutiny or manufactured controversies.<\/p>\n

Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don’t have the app? Download it for free from your app store<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sport matters because it mirrors our best values: hard work, teamwork, resilience and the chance for everyone to belong. The IOC\u2019s gender policy puts women\u2019s bodies under new surveillance and sets a dangerous precedent that could spill into health care, education and beyond.<\/p>\n

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Do not use the names of women athletes to target, shame or exclude transgender women. Transgender women are women. Women with intersex variations are women. I welcome these women \u2013 and all women \u2013 onto my teams.<\/p>\n

If we really want to protect the integrity of sport, let\u2019s invest in fairness, opportunity and safety for every athlete. Let\u2019s build a future where sport belongs to everyone.<\/p>\n

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Supreme Court hears arguments on laws banning trans athletes. See photos\"\"<\/p>\n

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Supreme Court hears arguments on laws banning trans athletes. See photos\"\"<\/p>\n

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Supreme Court hears arguments on laws banning trans athletes. See photos<\/p>\n

A man holds a placard outside the U.S. Supreme Court, on the day justices are expected to hear oral arguments in two cases concerning efforts to enforce state laws banning transgender athletes from female sports teams at public schools, in Washington, D.C., January 13, 2026.<\/p>\n

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Supreme Court hears arguments on laws banning trans athletes. See photos<\/p>\n

A supporter of the “Democrats for an Informed Approach to Gender” (DIAG) association holds a placard outside the U.S. Supreme Court, on the day justices are expected to hear oral arguments in two cases concerning efforts to enforce state laws banning transgender athletes from female sports teams at public schools, in Washington, D.C., January 13, 2026.<\/p>\n

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Supreme Court hears arguments on laws banning trans athletes. See photos<\/p>\n

A woman and a child wrap themself in a transgender flag with the message “protect trans kids” on it, on the day justices are expected to hear oral arguments in two cases concerning efforts to enforce Republican-backed state laws banning transgender athletes from female sports teams at public schools,outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 13, 2026.<\/p>\n

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Supreme Court hears arguments on laws banning trans athletes. See photos<\/p>\n

A person holds a placard outside the U.S. Supreme Court, on the day justices are expected to hear oral arguments in two cases concerning efforts to enforce state laws banning transgender athletes from female sports teams at public schools, in Washington, D.C., January 13, 2026.<\/p>\n

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6 \/ 7<\/p>\n

Supreme Court hears arguments on laws banning trans athletes. See photos<\/p>\n

A demonstrator wearing a Statue of Liberty crown carries a transgender flag outside the U.S. Supreme Court, on the day justices are expected to hear oral arguments in two cases concerning efforts to enforce Republican-backed state laws banning transgender athletes from female sports teams at public schools, in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 13, 2026.<\/p>\n

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7 \/ 7<\/p>\n

Supreme Court hears arguments on laws banning trans athletes. See photos<\/p>\n

A person holds a rainbow-colored umbrella outside the U.S. Supreme Court, on the day justices are expected to hear oral arguments in two cases concerning efforts to enforce state laws banning transgender athletes from female sports teams at public schools, in Washington, D.C., January 13, 2026.<\/p>\n

Brianna Turner<\/a> is a 2019 first-round draft pick and has played for the Phoenix Mercury, Chicago Sky and Indiana Fever. She has been an outspoken ally for social and racial justice and for LGBTQ+ athletes, including specifically in support of transgender women in women\u2019s sports.<\/p>\n

You can read diverse opinions from our USA TODAY columnists<\/a> and other writers on the Opinion front page<\/a>, on X, formerly Twitter, @usatodayopinion<\/a> and in our Opinion newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Olympics trans athlete ban doesn’t protect women like me | Opinion<\/a><\/p>\n