The WNBA acknowledged Monday that fans at Sunday's game between the Atlanta Dream and Indiana Fever should not have been asked to cover up shirts with messaging related to transgender athletes. "The WNBA is aware of interactions at (Sunday) night's game in Atlanta in which fans were asked by league security to cover their shirts. This should not have happened," the league said in a statement.
During Sunday's game, multiple fans were shown on the jumbotron wearing shirts with a "XX-XY" message, while another fan was shown wearing a shirt that said "Protect Trans Kids." Additionally, another fan was shown during the broadcast wearing a shirt that said "Trans kids belong in sports." According to two fans who were interviewed outside the arena after the game, security officials brought them Dream shirts and asked them to cover up their shirts or leave. The Dream released a statement saying that they were not involved in the situation. "The Atlanta Dream believes in creating a safe and inclusive environment for everyone.
Unfortunately, at last night's game, WNBA security took actions that fell short of that standard," the Dream wrote in a statement. "At no point were Dream personnel involved in the decisions made by WNBA security." In an ESPN profile last month, Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham said, as part of a discussion about her political views, that she wants to "protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn't have to go against biological men." She doubled down on those comments when asked about them prior to the Fever's win over the Connecticut Sun on July 22. I think it's kind of common sense," Cunningham said.
"And I think I'll always believe in that. I think it's really important to protect children, and that's little girls who are also involved in that category. I stand on what I said." Cunningham added that she doesn't "dislike anyone" and that there's "room to love everyone.
She continued, "I'm also there to love biological women, and I think that there are rights that need to be protected. And, like I said, I'm gonna stand true to that. I'll never falter in my beliefs in that.
But I have never once stated that I hated the trans community." Since then, the WNBA has become a battleground in the debate about transgender athletes, despite the fact that the league has never had a transgender player and does not have a public policy about transgender participation. The new collective bargaining agreement states simply that, "only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA." Recently, former NBA players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White "declared" for the 2027 WNBA Draft by claiming that they now identify as women. Last week, the WNBA convened a task force to discuss the issue and issued a statement that read, in part, "We will approach these important conversations thoughtfully and in alignment with the values of our league.
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