Key background
The WNBA, players and coaches have largely been able to avoid the controversy about transgender participation in women’s sports simply because there aren’t many openly transgender women looking to play in the league. The league has never made a declaration on if trans athletes would be allowed to play, but many individual players have been largely supportive of the idea—until Cunningham. The Fever guard, who has been described as “MAGA Barbie” online, last month said she wants to “protect women’s sports” and doesn’t think people born male should be allowed into the league. “I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men,” she told ESPN. Her remarks have since triggered rallies both supporting and opposing her at WNBA games and several figures, including Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve and Golden State Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase, have publicly pushed back on Cunningham’s position.
Read more This Chinese Chain Beat Dick’s And Costco To Become The Fastest-Growing Retailer In The U.S.
WHAT DOES TRUMP HAVE TO DO WITH IT?
Very little, in terms of kicking off the current controversy. Trump has been vocally against transgender women playing in women’s sports but, beyond Leavitt confirming he was following the story after Cunningham’s remarks, he hasn’t commented on that or the Tétart drama. But, as those two stories have garnered online attention, a comment he made about the WNBA in 2022 began circling online. At Turning Point USA’s Student Action Summit in Florida that July, Trump joked that he would be the greatest women’s basketball coach ever because he’d simply ask superstar LeBron James if he had any “desire to be a woman.”
Read more New Mexico Sues Blanche, DOJ For ‘Withholding’ Epstein Files
THE WNBA’S LOSE-LOSE
By essentially goading Tétart into participating in the American transgender athlete debate, OutKick has set up a lose-lose situation for the WNBA. The framing puts the league in an awkward position: If it declines to pursue Tétart, critics (and conservative news outlets) can argue that its support for transgender athletes is performative. If the league does seek her, the same critics could use it as evidence that the WNBA is willing to compromise women’s sports for political reasons.
Read more Infantino Offers Morocco 2030 World Cup Final In Exchange For Support, Report Says