The debate on whether transgender women should play in the WNBA is growing in the last weeks, particularly since Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham said on July 21, in an interview with ESPN, that she wanted to "protect young girls in the locker room" who would not "go against biological man", stating her stance against the presence of transgender women in the sport.
This led to fans, journalists, coaches, and some players taking sides on the debate: some criticised Cunningham and have been booing her, while others supported her publicly. For example, Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve wore a shirt supporting trans rights.
Things got even more heated when two former NBA players, Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White, declared themselves eligible for the WNBA draft, saying they fulfilled every requirement as long as they self-identify as female, something that was seen as a mockery to the trans community (although they denied it) and as a denounce to the open and undefined eligibility rules in the WNBA, which does not define any criteria about biological sex or hormone levels.
The Women's National Basketball Players Association, the main union for players, responded, denouncing "hate, abuse, and demonization" against any person or group of people, including transgender people that "only fuel fear, division, and harm".
The debate is expected to go on for some time as WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert sent a memo to teams last weekend, as ESPN reported, addressing "questions in recent weeks regarding transgender athlete participation in women's basketball". The WNBA boss confirmed the topic will be discussed by team presidents and general managers at a a previously scheduled meeting this week, and so far have not made any public comments on the issue.
