WNBA Transgender Controversy

In its history, the WNBA has never had a transgender player. A collective bargaining agreement ratified by the WNBA in March 2026 states that “only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA.” Across more than 400 pages, the league never defines the word “woman.” 

That gap went largely uncontested until July 21, when ESPN published a profile of Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham. “I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn't have to go against biological men,” Cunningham said. The remark sparked debate across the internet and active WNBA players. At one recent WNBA game, the Indiana Fever against the Seattle Storm, a group of teens held a sign reading, “Thank You Sophie for speaking up for girls!” Soon after, Seattle Storm minority co-owner Celeste Keaton promptly asked them to remove the sign, reportedly telling them that they are “[EXPLETIVE] insane.” Nearby spectators also mocked the girls while telling them that Cunningham was not truly standing up for women. They repeatedly leaned away from the girls “as though they were contagious.” Another spectator also told security to “take the trash out,” referring to the teens. 

After the incident, the Seattle Storm issued a public apology admitting that their co-owner had acted inappropriately towards the teenagers at the game. The WNBA also fined Keaton and suspended her from attending the team’s next five home games. The incident shows that the debate over transgender athletes in the WNBA has gone past league policies: it has become personal and hostile. 

There is a lot of controversy regarding Sophie Cunningham in the WNBA. However, the majority of Americans support her. The Pew Research Center recently released the results of a poll on the participation of transgender female athletes in women’s sports, which found that 73 percent of Americans believe that those assigned male at birth should not be allowed to compete in women’s sports. Additionally, a separate February 2025 Pew survey found that 66 percent of Americans believe that there should be policies requiring athletes to only compete on sports teams that match the sex on their birth certificates.

The attention surrounding Cunningham’s statement soon shifted toward a challenge to the WNBA’s eligibility rules, as two former NBA players decided to add to the controversy. Former NBA center Enes Kanter Freedom, as well as former NBA center and Republican Senate candidate Royce White both announced their intent to enter the 2027 WNBA draft. Freedom was drafted third overall in the 2011 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz and played 11 seasons in the NBA. On the other hand, White was drafted 16th overall in the 2012 draft and played nine minutes in three games. However, his political career has been more robust. Notably, he led peaceful marches following the death of George Floyd. Additionally, he ran for Senate in Minnesota both in 2024 and 2026, losing both times. He has since announced a campaign for the 2028 Republican presidential nomination. 

However, critics argue that transgender athletes should not be treated as political symbols or excluded from sports because of their identity. They emphasize that transgender women are only a miniscule amount of athletes, especially in professional sports, and that policies must account for inclusion of everyone.

The WNBA responded to these concerns, saying it supports “justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion,” while stating that transgender people should not be used as “political pawns.” 

That exact concern stems from Article XIII, Section 1(a) of the WNBA Collective Bargaining Agreement, which states, “Only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA.” The policy does not explicitly define the term “woman” nor does it specify any criteria about biological sex, hormone levels, or physical attributes. Therefore, there is no clause that specifies whether identifying as a woman makes someone eligible for the league.

Freedom and White both seem to be targeting this ambiguity in order to protest the league’s policies regarding gender eligibility for transgender athletes. Freedom stated, “My team and I have carefully examined the WNBA’s eligibility criteria and governing framework surrounding self-identification and inclusion [...] If they don’t have any problem with it, why not just go out there and take my shot and try to play basketball in the WNBA?” 

Freedom posted about looking forward to his play in the WNBA; in a statement on X released by Freedom, he stated, “Sis! Once I go number one pick in the 2027 WNBA Draft, the first player I'm dunking on is Angel Reese.” Despite the satirical framing of Freedom’s decision, in a video he posted both on Instagram and Facebook, he established that he does not intend to “mock, make fun of, or disrespect any community or personal choices.” He reemphasized that his aim is to push the WNBA into refining its guidelines around who can play in the league.

White also seems committed to playing in the WNBA, claiming that he is “just having a blast in my feminine era [...] After further review, it would appear that I am indeed sometimes identifying as a transgender woman, and I think it’s only fair I get a chance to play with some of my queens here in the twilight of my career.” Similarly to Freedom, White is exploiting the absence of a definition of “woman” in the league’s eligibility rule. White also declared that he would file a discrimination lawsuit if he were barred from playing. In a Fox News Digital interview in early August, he said, “We’re gonna have to have a huge legal battle about discrimination if I can’t play.”

However, the WNBA surmised that White and Freedom are using their platform as former NBA players to push for a policy that restricts the WNBA to women assigned female at birth, declaring for the draft as public stunts. Therefore, they ruled that the two were ineligible for the draft.

Supporters of stricter eligibility rules point to performance gaps between males and females present in many different professional sports. For example, the male records in swimming are one to 12 percent faster than female records. In tennis, where a player’s skill is measured by their Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) from 1.00 to 16.5, the best UTR for a male tennis player is around 16.40, while the best female UTR is around 13.00. The most notable difference may be in weightlifting, in which the strongest male can deadlift 1,105 pounds, while the strongest female can lift 683 pounds. Critics counter that these figures compare elite men to elite women and say little about athletes who have undergone hormone therapy which is part of the standard that most inclusive policies actually use. 

Several leagues around the world have already enforced restrictions. Governing bodies have banned those assigned male at birth from participating in women’s categories. International leagues in swimming, track and field, cycling, and boxing have all enacted a restriction on transgender participants of their tournaments. Many have created eligibility requirements where only women assigned female at birth can participate.

Lastly, following the recent controversy, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) required a one-time cheek swab screening for the SRY gene, which shows male sex development in the womb. If a player in the WTA is found to have the SRY gene, they are to be banned from entering a WTA tournament. However, there are some exceptions for women who have specific rare medical conditions. 

The WNBA has not yet publicly explained how it would apply its eligibility rule in order to accommodate transgender athletes. That ambiguity has allowed statements from Cunningham, Freedom, and White to grow into a nation-wide controversy. As leagues across different sports adopt different approaches in order to ensure fairness, the WNBA faces pressure from the public to establish a more definite eligibility rule: a rule that can address concerns about competitive fairness while considering the inclusion of transgender athletes.