{"id":863702,"date":"2026-08-19T11:56:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T11:56:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/863702\/"},"modified":"2026-08-19T11:56:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T11:56:12","slug":"wnba-says-fans-trans-shirts-should-not-have-been-censored-security-fell-short","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/863702\/","title":{"rendered":"WNBA says fans’ trans shirts should not have been censored: ‘Security fell short’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Angel Reese of Atlanta and Sophie Cunningham of Indiana during the WNBA game between the Indiana Fever and the Atlanta Dream on August 16 (Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The WNBA<\/a> said fans at Sunday night\u2019s Atlanta Dream vs Indiana Fever game should not have been told by league security to cover shirts carrying messages about transgender participation in women\u2019s sport, including one shirt supporting trans people.<\/p>\n

At least three fans were asked by WNBA security members to cover their shirts with trans-related messaging during the game in Atlanta, as per AP<\/a>.<\/p>\n

According to reports, there were two people wearing shirts carrying a message that women\u2019s and girls\u2019 sports should be restricted based on sex, while one wore a shirt in support of trans people.<\/p>\n

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In a statement issued on Monday, the WNBA said: \u201cThe WNBA is aware of interactions at (Sunday) night\u2019s game in Atlanta in which fans were asked by league security to cover their shirts,\u201d adding: \u201cThis should not have happened.\u201d <\/p>\n

The league also said it informed security workers from the Atlanta game that they should not have asked for the shirt messages to be covered.<\/p>\n

The Atlanta Dream also issued a statement, saying the team was not responsible for the security decision.<\/p>\n

\"AA Sophie Cunningham supporter at the WNBA game between the Indiana Fever and the Atlanta Dream on August 16 (Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Atlanta Dream believes in creating a safe and inclusive environment for everyone. Unfortunately, at last night\u2019s game, WNBA security took actions that fell short of that standard,\u201d the team said. \u201cAt no point was Dream personnel involved in the decisions made by WNBA security.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trans debate and WNBA rules<\/p>\n

The incident has landed amid a wider debate about transgender participation in women\u2019s sport. It comes after the WNBA denounced the \u201cbad-faith efforts\u201d<\/a> from two ex-NBA players who declared themselves eligible for the WNBA draft<\/a> by simply saying they were women. <\/p>\n

There has never been a transgender woman player in the WNBA. Currently, the league\u2019s collective bargaining agreement says the WNBA is restricted to women, but contains no more specific language about gender identity or sex.<\/p>\n

The league has a prominent LGBTQ+ fanbase and has historically been associated with strong player activism on social issues.<\/p>\n

Last month, Fever guard Sophie Cunningham told ESPN<\/a> that she was opposed to transgender girls and women competing<\/a> in girls\u2019 and women\u2019s sports to \u201cprotect\u201d them, which led to small protests outside a handful of recent games. <\/p>\n

Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Angel Reese of Atlanta and Sophie Cunningham of Indiana during the WNBA game between the Indiana Fever and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":863703,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[49,48,82,630,142417],"class_list":["post-863702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-sports","tag-wnba","tag-womens-national-basketball-association-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=863702"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863702\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/863703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=863702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=863702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=863702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}