Right-wing activists target WNBA over trans inclusion; players and fans mount organized pushback
Despite no trans women currently playing in the WNBA and no explicit league rule on trans participation, conservative groups have launched a campaign against the league, prompting widespread resistance from players, fans, and venue owners.
What happened
Since July 2024, right-wing activists and organizations have escalated anti-trans messaging directed at the WNBA, beginning with Sophie Cunningham of the Indiana Fever making comments in an ESPN interview about not wanting young girls to compete against biological men (characterized as anti-trans rhetoric) and two former NBA players declaring intent to enter the WNBA draft (both deemed ineligible by the league). Fox News aired over 200 segments about the league in July, mostly focused on Cunningham's comments. The sportswear company XX-XY, which lobbies to exclude trans athletes, has organized courtside protests at games and events; its founder was photographed with Cunningham and conservative commentator Riley Gaines. In response, WNBA players including Natasha Cloud and Gabby Williams have publicly supported trans inclusion, while fans have held rallies, brought supportive signs to games, and defended sports bars designated as safe spaces for LGBTQ+ patrons. When XX-XY protesters appeared at the Sports Bra bar in Portland in September, management asked them to leave; when a different group of right-wing anti-trans protesters arrived two weeks later, neighborhood residents counter-protested and the right-wing demonstrators sprayed bear spray at counter-protesters. Some queer and trans fans report feeling unsafe attending games alone but find solidarity in organized fan communities.
Context
The WNBA's fanbase is heavily queer, and the league itself reflects that demographic composition. The anti-trans campaign targeting the league is part of a broader conservative push to restrict trans rights, healthcare, and protections across the U.S., including a June Supreme Court decision upholding state bans on trans girls in school sports and upcoming state ballot measures framed as protecting girls but effectively barring trans students from participation. However, public opinion polling from June 2024 found voters do not support the Supreme Court setting trans athlete policy and do not favor reversing state protections for trans student athletes. The targeting of the WNBA creates tension between right-wing activists' stated concerns about women's sports and the league's actual composition and values; the league currently has no trans women players and no explicit rule permitting or banning trans women, making the campaign primarily rhetorical rather than responsive to documented policy changes.