{"id":936602,"date":"2026-10-17T16:14:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-17T16:14:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/936602\/"},"modified":"2026-10-17T16:14:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-17T16:14:10","slug":"the-right-is-pushing-its-anti-trans-fury-on-the-wnba-players-and-fans-are-loudly-pushing-back-wnba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/936602\/","title":{"rendered":"The right is pushing its anti-trans fury on the WNBA. Players and fans are loudly pushing back | WNBA"},"content":{"rendered":"

At Wilka\u2019s Sports Bar in lower Manhattan, a crowd of mostly LGBTQ+ fans was fired up during a WNBA<\/a> playoff game between the New York Liberty and the Atlanta Dream. When the Liberty\u2019s Jonquel Jones blocked the Dream\u2019s star forward Angel Reese at the basket, then chest-bumped her \u2013 leading teammates to separate them \u2013 the bar erupted in cheers. One fan quietly joked: \u201cNow kiss!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI love strong women, and I love supporting strong women,\u201d said August, a trans organizer and Liberty fan who asked to go by their first name for privacy reasons.<\/p>\n

The scene at Wilka\u2019s, where a sign reading \u201ctrans people belong in sports\u201d hangs prominently behind the bar, exemplifies much of the WNBA fanbase, which, like the league itself,<\/a> is heavily queer. But many wouldn\u2019t know that from reading recent headlines about the league. Since the summer, the WNBA has become the target of rightwing activists pushing their agenda to ban trans women and girls from sports. The league has no explicit rule barring or permitting trans women and there are no trans women in the WNBA.<\/p>\n

In response, many of the league\u2019s players and fans have made clear they don\u2019t align with anti-trans rhetoric. Several players, like the Chicago Sky\u2019s Natasha Cloud<\/a> and the Golden State Valkyries\u2019 Gabby Williams, have voiced their support for the trans community; Williams said in May<\/a> that she would \u201cwelcome\u201d a trans teammate anytime.<\/p>\n

Fans, too, have loudly pushed back \u2013 holding rallies, bringing signs into the games and even defending their sports bars, meant as a safe space for women and LGBTQ+ fans, from aggression. As the WNBA finals between the Dream and the Golden State Valkyries tip off Saturday, the pro-trans, pro-Black, pro-queer fanbase wants to remind others of the original ethos of women\u2019s sports: inclusion and community.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not about protecting women\u2019s sports,\u201d Allie, another Liberty fan at Wilka\u2019s who asked to go by their first name, said about the anti-trans backlash facing the WNBA. \u201dAnd I feel better knowing the fact that the majority of the fanbase is standing up, saying: \u2018No, this isn\u2019t right.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Why the anti-trans backlash took off<\/p>\n

The anti-trans fury surrounding the WNBA took off in July, when Sophie Cunningham, a backup guard for the Indiana Fever, said in an interview with ESPN<\/a> that she wanted to \u201cprotect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn\u2019t have to go against biological men\u201d \u2013 an anti-trans dog-whistle used to misgender trans women. Soon after, two former NBA players declared their intention to enter the WNBA draft. (The league said they were ineligible and condemned the behavior.) It resulted in a media frenzy, with Fox News airing more than 200 segments<\/a> about the league in July, the majority of which were about Cunningham\u2019s comments.<\/p>\n

The sportswear company XX-XY, which lobbies women\u2019s sports leagues and state legislatures to exclude players based on their assigned biological sex at birth, also rode the Cunningham media wave. Its shirts bearing the brand\u2019s name \u2013 referencing biological sex chromosomes \u2013 have become recognizable by players and fans as an anti-trans statement at games and events. In August, the company\u2019s founder was photographed courtside in XX-XY merch<\/a> with Cunningham and the conservative anti-trans commentator Riley Gaines. XX-XY supporters and influencers have also gathered outside Fever games with signs calling to \u201cprotect girls sports\u201d. XX-XY did not respond to the Guardian\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that this is really about trying to rile up a base of folks who already show some sort of anti-gender ideology,\u201d meaning those who oppose the rights of women and LGBTQ+ people, said Anna Castro, deputy communications director at the Transgender<\/a> Law Center.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s happening in the WNBA is representative of a broader rightwing push to roll back rights, healthcare and protections for trans people across the US. In June, the conservative-majority supreme court upheld the constitutionality of states banning trans girls\u2019 participation in school sports. This November, several state ballot initiatives claim to be about \u201cprotecting girls\u201d from \u201cbiological males\u201d in sports but effectively bar trans students from playing. A ballot measure in Washington, for example, would require all girls to \u201cverify\u201d their identity by a doctor.<\/p>\n

And yet these policies don\u2019t align with public opinion. A June poll from the National Women\u2019s Law Center<\/a> found that voters do not support the supreme court setting official policy for trans athletes\u2019 participation in sports, nor are they in favor of reversing state protections for trans student athletes.<\/p>\n

Resistance has played out at basketball arenas. When the Fever played the Seattle Storm in late July, Storm co-owner Celeste Keaton<\/a> confronted two XX-XY-sponsored courtside attendees and, according to one, told them \u201cJesus loves everyone\u201d and \u201cstop pulling this shit\u201d. The WNBA then fined and suspended Keaton.<\/p>\n

People rally to support Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham after her comments on trans athletes in women\u2019s sports before a WNBA game in Portland, Oregon, on 31 July 2026. Photograph: Craig Mitchelldyer\/AP<\/p>\n

When a group in XX-XY shirts arrived at the women\u2019s sports bar Sports Bra in Portland, Oregon, in September, management asked them to leave<\/a> based on its policy of removing anyone wearing messaging targeting the community. \u201cAt The Sports Bra, our mission is simple: support, promote, and empower ALL girls and women in sports,\u201d the bar\u2019s owners posted on Instagram<\/a>. \u201cTo be clear: trans girls are girls, and trans women are women.\u201d<\/p>\n

When a different group of rightwing anti-trans protesters arrived at the Sports Bra two weeks later, a group of neighborhood residents showed up in defense of the bar and its patrons; the rightwing protesters eventually sprayed the counter-protesters with bear spray<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The anti-trans harassment creates an environment where some fans said they are scared to go to games alone, but feel safer knowing other queer and trans fans are organizing to take a stand.<\/p>\n

Similarly, WNBA players are struggling to feel protected against increased racism and harassment from viewers. Last season, men started a trend of throwing dildos on the court during games, instigated by cryptocurrency investors<\/a>; this season, it continued,<\/a> with crypto influencers citing the conversation around trans women and the WNBA as their motivation. Black players like the Fever\u2019s Kelsey Mitchell report facing constant racist invective on social media<\/a>. Players and viewers have criticized the league for not doing more to combat the environment. The WNBA did not return the Guardian\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n

Racist and anti-trans harassment are often intertwined, Castro said: \u201cThe trans youth and cis youth that get targeted with sports bans are trans girls of color, and particularly Black girls. I think that it\u2019s incredible that there have been fans that have said so vehemently: \u2018This is not what we\u2019re about.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

How fans are pushing back<\/p>\n

In August, Turning Point USA planned a pro-Cunningham rally outside the Fever game against the Liberty at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. So a group of organizers planned a rally of their own to show support for women\u2019s sports and trans rights. Before the game, they distributed signs and T-shirts made by the Transgender Law Center that said:\u201cTrans people belong here\u201d. They also danced and held a party.<\/p>\n

In the Bay Area over the last three months, parents of trans kids have organized poster distributions outside Valkyries games, handing out signs thanking Williams and coach Natalie Nakase for their outspoken support for trans people. They\u2019ve also used the signs to surround anti-trans protesters who show up.<\/p>\n

According to Arne Johnson of Rainbow Families Action, the group\u2019s efforts to support trans youth in sports started with trans high school track star AB Hernandez<\/a>, who was subjected to an intense harassment campaign \u2013 and is a hero to his own trans daughter. Holding rallies at games has been much more joyful than testifying at state hearings against anti-trans advocates who speak cruelly to their children\u2019s faces, he said. He didn\u2019t need to organize fans to take a stand.<\/p>\n

Trans athlete supporters hold signs and flags outside the main entrance before a game between the New York Liberty and the Indiana Fever at Barclays Center on 22 August 2026 in New York City. Photograph: Elsa\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have a visceral understanding of what this is about,\u201d he said. \u201cThat really crystallized what this WNBA fandom means: they were out there to protect each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

He was especially touched by how the fans saw trans youth as part of their community. The group has since set up Minnesota Lynx fans with signs and merch; for the Lynx\u2019s game against the Fever in August, head coach Cheryl Reeve wore a \u201cTrans Kids Belong\u201d shirt<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, organizers from California and Washington will host a rally outside the finals game between the Valkyries and the Dream in San Francisco and at women\u2019s sports bars in both states. They\u2019re using the opportunity to call attention to a ballot measure in Washington barring transgender girls from K-12 girls\u2019 sports teams.<\/p>\n

High schooler Jules, a trans athlete, said that during rallies outside the Valkyries game, passersby would ask her for signs and shirts, or even to take a picture with her, wearing her cape of a trans flag. It reminds her of what she loves most about sports: community.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we got completely destroyed in a game, I would not care,\u201d said Jules. \u201cBut if someone was being mean or being unsportsmanlike or something like that, it breaks the community of it.\u201d<\/p>\n