File under \u201cstupid publicity stunt that I shouldn\u2019t even be writing about, but here I am, writing about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last week, former NBA players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White demanded they be officially declared eligible for the 2027 WNBA draft. White, who recently lost the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith, has claimed to be transgender and argued that he should be allowed to play in the women\u2019s league. \u201cI identify as sometimes identifying as a woman for purposes of \u2026 professional basketball,\u201d he told Fox News. <\/p>\n
White also posted pictures of himself wearing a wig, stating that he was embracing his \u201cfeminine era.\u201d<\/p>\n
Designed to mock the trans community and troll the organization and its inclusion and self-identification policies, the former NBA players suggested they would take legal action if blocked from the WNBA draft. <\/p>\n
They\u2019re among the legions of attention seekers, influencers, news media and activists taking sides in a culture war over something that\u2019s not even close to happening: the WNBA\u2019s inclusion of transgender athletes. To be clear, no transgender players are slated to become part of the league\u2019s roster. A right-wing uproar over an imagined threat. Where have we seen this before? <\/p>\n
The debate was sparked not by an impending reality but instead by comments from a player who\u2019s no stranger to controversy. <\/p>\n
In an ESPN profile published last month, Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham stated that \u201cbiological men\u201d should not compete in women\u2019s sports, calling the position \u201ccommon sense\u201d to protect young girls and Title IX. Agitation is nothing new for Cunningham. She\u2019s been called \u201cMAGA Barbie\u201d since her college days, partly because of the conservative influencers she follows and engages with on social media. Cunningham has become a conduit for MAGA grievances, and her knack for garnering attention has been a boon for those championing right wing causes.<\/p>\n
The remarks drew activist groups to rally outside WNBA games, heightening tensions inside arenas, and became grist for MAGA influencers such as competitive swimmer turned political activist Riley Gaines.<\/p>\n
Capitalizing on the fear of transgender athletes participating in women\u2019s sports and stoking outrage among conservatives about what The Left may do should they return to power has been a winning move for the Trump administration. In February 2025, President Trump signed an executive order called \u201cKeeping Men Out of Women\u2019s Sports\u201d that was designed to withhold federal funding from organizations that do not abide by the administration\u2019s view that a person\u2019s sex is the gender they were assigned at birth.<\/p>\n
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said last month that men should not be playing in women\u2019s sports. \u201cIt\u2019s completely ludicrous that anyone could support that,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s even more ludicrous that you do have Cunningham \u2014 a female athlete herself, very accomplished in her own right \u2014 coming forth and speaking that truth that men shouldn\u2019t play in women\u2019s sports. We want to protect women and girls, and the backlash she is receiving from Democrats and left-wing figures across the country is astonishing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The WNBA last week criticized those trying to create a false 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 last week in a statement.<\/p>\n
There is no league clause that states self-identification as a woman is sufficient to establish eligibility. Article XIII, Section 1(a) of the WNBA\u2019s 2026 Collective Bargaining Agreement says, \u201cOnly players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA.\u201d The policy does not explicitly define the term \u201cwoman.\u201d <\/p>\n
Cunningham said she doesn\u2019t have anything against the transgender community. <\/p>\n
\u201cI got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I\u2019m like, I never once said that. I think that I am here to extend love,\u201d she said in the ESPN article. \u201cBut I also think with that love is truth, being honest. And I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn\u2019t have to go against biological men.\u201d<\/p>\n
The vitriol around her comments has become so pronounced that the player\u2019s name has reportedly been banned<\/a> on the WNBA subreddit, where the league\u2019s forum won\u2019t allow the words \u201cCunningham,\u201d \u201cSophie,\u201d \u201csc,\u201d \u201cscunningham,\u201d \u201csoph,\u201d or \u201csophiacunningham.\u201d <\/p>\n