The WNBA has been gripped by controversy over the last few weeks, after middling Indiana Fever veteran Sophie Cunningham made waves by coming out against trans women playing

women’s sports. Since then, anti-trans groups have rallied behind the guard, recruiting teen girls to attend games with signs and even anti-trans activist Riley Gaines showing up at one of her games over the weekend to ~~show her support~~ grab the spotlight.

Gaines has made a name for herself—and hundreds of thousands of dollars—by speaking out against trans athletes after tying for fifth place in a college swimming race with trans swimmer Lia Thomas. It appears now that Cunningham is headed down a similarly grifty path, coming out of nowhere recently to decry the idea of trans women in women’s sports, even though there aren’t any trans players in her league, or any other professional or collegiate league in any sport.

League officials have thus far not deterred any of this, instead choosing to suspend and fine a co-owner of the Seattle Storm for yelling at a group of anti-trans activists. Each game that Cunningham has played has now turned into a showdown between transphobes and fans who support trans people as well as even queer fans themselves.

During this weekend’s game between the Fever and the Minnesota Lynx, Cunningham was booed by the home crowd every time she touched the ball. It feels like this controversy is headed toward a more serious incident down the line. The Lynx is a team full of publicly queer and progressive players, and Cunningham’s antics—along with the crowd she is attracting to these games—creates an unwelcome environment for those players in their own building.

For her part, it makes financial sense for Cunningham to embrace this. Trans athletes are still a hot political topic, and are basically the only thing that conservatives have to offer voters nowadays. Conservative media is rife with transphobia and whoever makes the most extreme statements about trans people tends to get the brightest spotlight.

For an aging, mostly average player who doesn’t even start on her own team, all of this feels like Cunningham is priming herself for a transition into the conservative media griftosphere à la Gaines.

Gaines herself makes millions of dollars travelling the country and disparaging trans women, so there’s no reason why Cunningham now couldn’t do the same.

And this seemingly inevitable future for a player like Cunningham is what makes all of this so galling. There are no trans women in the WNBA; there has never been an openly trans player in the WNBA; and trans players are not allowed to play NCAA women’s basketball (which is where WNBA players are drafted from), so it’s essentially impossible for a trans woman to play in the league or refute any of Cunningham’s statements. But Cunningham still was able to make the huge splash with all of this as she has.

“I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I’m like, ‘I never once said that,’” Cunningham said on July 21, kicking off the saga. “I think that I am here to extend love. But I also think with that love is truth, being honest. And I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.”

Her comments are ignorant. “Biological men” is a scientifically nonsense term designed to group trans women in with men when there are real, measurable differences between the two groups and their athletic bodies. Study after study have shown that trans women and girls simply do not have the huge physical advantages that people like Gaines and Cunningham claim they do.

We live in a mediasphere that courts transphobic personalities and even such alleged journalistic havens as the New York Times has positively covered Cunningham’s theatrics (because her argument supports the paper’s editorial view on trans issues).

It’s frustrating as a trans woman who covers politics and sports that it is this easy to farm hundreds of headlines simply by being transphobic. There’s no equal or opposite force giving so much attention to someone who is vocally pro-trans. Every few years, women’s soccer star Megan Rapinoe writes an article or makes a statement saying she supports trans athletes and trans rights, but that doesn’t prompt pro-trans organizations to organize publicity stunts using literal children. It doesn’t prompt other pro-trans activists to show up to Rapinoe games to get their picture taken.

It’s also frustrating because the anti-trans athlete side has essentially won the argument, at least for now. Trans women basically can’t participate in elite sports at all, because they are banned on the women’s side, and physically unequal on the men’s side. There are also too few trans athletes to start our own leagues at any level. Trans men currently are forced to delay their medical transitions in order to stay in the women’s category so that they can make a career in sports.

@xtramagazine Trans women and girls in sports … many jurisdictions are moving to ban their participation. But these trans sports bans are often based in bad science and misinformation. What are the facts? In this edition of Xtra Explains, we break down everything you need to know about fairness in kids sports with the fact-checked journalism you need 🏳️‍⚧️⚽️ #fyp #foryoupage #lgbtqnews #explainer #explained #trans #sports #womenssports #alberta ♬ original sound – Xtra Magazine

This essentially means that adult trans athletes fundamentally do not have the same athletic opportunities as their cis counterparts. Trans girls can sometimes compete at the school level, depending on where they live. Thirty states have banned trans girls from school sports and the U.S. Supreme Court recently upheld those bans.

While cis kids are free to enjoy all the benefits of athletics, from team building, self-esteem boosting and all the physical benefits of sports, trans kids are told they do not belong. It is an open scar upon our society that likely won’t be healed any time soon.

Cunningham and her ilk get the attention because transphobia is ridiculously popular. There’s a thrill in giving into your most base bigotries, and other transphobes will always celebrate it when someone relatively known in society confirms their biases.

Individuals within the WNBA are thankfully speaking out. Golden State Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase was asked about Cunningham in a recent press conference. “[S]ports is about belonging. It’s about inclusivity. It’s about allowing everyone to be their authentic self,” Nakase said. “I’m big on that because I have been criticized for my height, for my ethnicity. I’ve been in those ‘you shouldn’t belong here,’ [moments] and for me, I don’t want that space, especially Golden State, to ever feel like that. I’m all about women, little girls, deserving to play, and that includes trans women.”

Similarly, Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve also defended trans athletes before their weekend matchup with the Fever. “The narrative that I think is problematic is to suggest that transgender athletes are the biggest problem in women’s sports,” she said. “This is what’s bothersome. There is a faction of people in our country that are making this a massive issue.”

League superstar Caitlin Clark, a teammate of Cunningham’s, deferred when asked about the controversy, saying that trans athletes are not something that comes up within the team’s locker room. No kidding, there are no pro or college trans basketball players and maybe a small handful of high school trans athletes. This couldn’t be more of a non-issue in 2026.

And yet every sports guy with political ambitions has jumped all over this. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, a man who once took heat for playing solitaire during one of the most exciting NBA playoff games of all time, leapt at the chance to let people know he’s against trans athletes. Smith has flirted many times with the idea of running for president. Instead of saying anything of substance, he instead criticized Reeve for wearing a “trans kids belong” shirt.

It’s all a circus and swiftly getting out of control.

I can’t help but think the WNBA will continue down this path of conflict until a group of anti-trans folks start harassing queer fans, or even some of the players. Quite a few Black women playing in the league have been accused of secretly being a man or being trans in their careers. It’s only a matter of time before this latest group of interloping bigots does it again. I think of WNBA star Brittney Griner, who has faced near constant accusations of secretly being a man due to her height and appearance. There’s also Olympic gold medal boxer Imane Khelif, who was born a girl, raised a woman and faced international outrage based solely on her appearance and some sketchy Russian accusations over her gender.

I have no faith that the WNBA as a league will actually ever take a stand against any of this garbage, so when this inevitably happens, there should be no doubt as to who should be held responsible.