{"id":32917,"date":"2026-08-28T10:50:04","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T10:50:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=32917"},"modified":"2026-08-28T10:50:04","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T10:50:04","slug":"right-wing-trans-hate-comes-for-the-wnba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=32917","title":{"rendered":"Right-Wing Trans Hate Comes for the WNBA"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>\n  <iframe src=\"https:\/\/embed.acast.com\/intercept-presents\/right-wing-trans-hate-comes-for-the-wnba?accentColor=111111&amp;bgColor=f5f6f7&amp;logo=false\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"acast-player__embed\"><\/iframe>\n<\/p>\n<p><!-- END-BLOCK(acast)[0] --><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span class=\"has-underline\">The WNBA is<\/span> having a moment. Viewership is up. Attendance for this year\u2019s WNBA All-Star Game surpassed the NBA\u2019s All-Star Game. Games and events can be viewed in a record number of places, from broadcast to cable and streaming. And just this week, Angel Reese of the Atlanta Dream set a single-game <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/wnba\/story\/_\/id\/49718513\/dream-angel-reese-sets-wnba-single-game-season-rebounding-records\">record<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the stories about the WNBA capturing national attention in recent weeks are about none of that. Instead, the focus has been on two retired NBA players, including Enes Kanter Freedom, who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DcbRTsrxP0q\/\">showed up courtside<\/a> at an August 23 Chicago Sky\u2013Indiana Fever game wearing a T-shirt that said \u201cWoman: noun. adult human female.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI don\u2019t believe that he\u2019s being genuine in any realm, in order to create this mass hysteria of sorts for an issue that\u2019s actually simply a non-issue,\u201d says <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/arperry01\/?hl=en\">Angela Perry<\/a>, a WNBA content creator, tells The Intercept Briefing.\u00a0\u201cThere are no trans women in the WNBA; there are none attempting to be in the WNBA.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This week on The Intercept Briefing podcast, host Jessica Washington speaks to Perry and journalist Katelyn Burns about how the premier women\u2019s professional basketball league has found itself at the center of a right-wing manufactured panic.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe right has made such hay out of trans women in women\u2019s sports that they need to keep inventing controversies in order to keep this issue front of mind,\u201d says Burns who writes for the independent newsletter<a href=\"https:\/\/www.burnsnotice.com\/heres-how-the-wnba-can-win-the-anti-trans-controversy\/\"> Burns Notice<\/a> and co-hosts the<a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/cancel-me-daddy\/id1550508625\"> Cancel Me, Daddy<\/a> podcast.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe have a midterm election coming up, and to be frank with you, the only thing that the right has done besides terrorizing immigrants is banning trans women from women\u2019s sports. It\u2019s at the center of almost all of their policies,\u201d continues Burns. \u201cThey are inventing controversies about trans people in sports where there are no trans people involved.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis is about women in general. They\u2019re already talking about not wanting women to have the right to vote,\u201d says Perry. \u201cThis isn\u2019t just about sports. There\u2019s a political party trying to scale us back to what they perceive was a time where things were better. But really, it was when women were more controlled.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe bigger issue is that the people who think that they\u2019re protected, it\u2019s always going to get to the protected class eventually,\u201d warns Perry. \u201cRight now, the focus is trans, and people think they\u2019re safe because \u2018I\u2019m not trans. I\u2019m a cis woman and I\u2019m protected.\u2019 But it will impact you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For more, listen to the full conversation of The Intercept Briefing on <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/the-intercept-briefing\/id1195206601\">Apple Podcasts<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/2js8lwDRiK1TB4rUgiYb24?si=e3ce772344ee4170\">Spotify<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLW0Gy9pTgVnvgbvfd63A9uVpks3-uwudj\">YouTube,<\/a> or wherever you listen.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-transcript\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Transcript<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Akela Lacy: <\/strong>Welcome to The Intercept Briefing, I\u2019m Akela Lacy, senior politics reporter at The Intercept.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Jessica Washington: <\/strong>And I\u2019m Jessica Washington, politics reporter at The Intercept.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>AL: <\/strong>Jessie, in typical August fashion, it feels like things have kind of slowed down somewhat with Washington in recess amid the final days of summer. I\u2019m personally looking forward to having a little space to catch our breaths, as we enter the final <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/collections\/midterms-2026\/\">midterm stretch<\/a> before everyone turns their attention toward November.\u00a0But there\u2019s still plenty to cover.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">ICE announced a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/newshour\/nation\/ice-arrests-jump-to-nearly-50000-in-july-highest-monthly-total-of-trumps-crackdown\">record high<\/a> in July arrests and deportations, and the Department of Homeland Security is continuing to expand its attacks on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2026\/08\/25\/nx-s1-5944058\/us-largest-mass-visa-revocation-200-000-foreigners\"><em>legal <\/em>immigration<\/a>. Nobody fret: Democrats are still melting down over Hasan Piker, while House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/article\/politics\/hakeem-jeffries-jared-kushner-meeting-reaction\/\">met<\/a> recently with Jared Kushner. A majority-Black town in Indiana went <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/us-news\/gary-indiana-nears-full-power-restoration-2-weeks-violent-storms-rcna594456\">without power<\/a> \u2014 and very little news attention \u2014 for two weeks. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ps33o4ca84M\">Dolly Parton died<\/a>. And as we close out the sixth month of the Iran war, the Trump administration made a big show of announcing an \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2026\/08\/25\/purely-just-up-to-iran-bessents-d-day-unlikely-to-end-war-calm-energy-markets-01049825\">economic D-Day<\/a>\u201d with new sweeping sanctions and claiming, <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/collections\/targeting-iran\/\">yet again<\/a>, that this would end the war. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What have you been hearing on those fronts this week?<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>JW: <\/strong>I have to say: The second Trump administration is the only time in history where this could be considered a slow news cycle. But yeah, there\u2019s a lot to talk about.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So with ICE, we have really been seeing a huge surge in detention and deportations. What I\u2019ve been hearing from advocates on the ground is that it\u2019s also coincided with an increase in violence. We\u2019re seeing ICE use tactics like car <a href=\"https:\/\/kpfa.org\/episode\/hard-knock-radio-august-24-2026\/\">kettling<\/a>, even putting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxla.com\/news\/ice-agent-caught-camera-pepper-spraying-activists-car-dhs-limits-vehicle-stops\">pepper spray<\/a> and pepper balls into vehicles on the road. There\u2019s a lot of dangerous activity happening with ICE \u2014 and a lot less coverage than we saw in January and February.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In regards to Gary, Indiana, I think it\u2019s been heartening and disheartening of a news cycle, in the sense that at first people really were not paying attention. So for those who don\u2019t know: Thousands of residents in the predominantly Black community [were] without power for two weeks after a storm caused massive outages. There\u2019s a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@moreperfectunion\/video\/7678018905272569102?_r=1&amp;_t=ZP-99BYbzJQLqo\">lot of anger<\/a> right now because people are simultaneously being squeezed by these exorbitant electricity bills, but then they also don\u2019t have power to meet their basic survival needs \u2014 for their medical equipment, for their refrigeration of food.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s a story that we keep seeing repeat. In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.splcenter.org\/resources\/hopewatch\/five-things-about-jackson-mississippi-water-crisis\/\">Jackson, Mississippi<\/a>, for example, residents of the also predominantly Black community, have been plagued for years by both expensive water bills and years of water shut-offs and boil-water notices. We just keep seeing people squeezed at both ends. You somehow don\u2019t have access to the resources you need to survive, and you\u2019re practically paying a second mortgage for the pleasure.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>AL: <\/strong>Jessie, you\u2019ve also been reporting this week on the fallout over the fight regarding trans rights in sports. This is not my wheelhouse. Can you get us up to speed on what happened, and where does the fight stand now?<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>JW: <\/strong>I had a great conversation with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/arperry01\/?hl=en\">Angela Perry<\/a>, a content creator who covers the WNBA and women\u2019s basketball, and Katelyn Burns, who writes for the independent newsletter <a href=\"https:\/\/www.burnsnotice.com\/\">Burns Notice<\/a> \u2014 she also co-hosts the <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/cancel-me-daddy\/id1550508625\">Cancel Me, Daddy<\/a> podcast \u2014 about how the WNBA, a league with no trans women in it, found itself at the center of a right-wing culture war on transgender rights.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The right-wing outrage machine started off focusing on perceived racial grievances, claiming WNBA star Caitlin Clark, who is white, had been unfairly targeted because of her race. Media Matters recently documented Fox News spending over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediamatters.org\/fox-news\/fox-news-has-spent-over-13-12-hours-waging-wnba-culture-war-summer\">13 1\/2 hours<\/a> of its summer coverage on the WNBA, largely focusing in on race and, more recently, trans inclusion.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then enters WNBA player <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2026\/08\/09\/sophie-cunningham-wnba-trans-athletes\/\">Sophie Cunningham<\/a>, who has become a darling of the right, earning the moniker \u201cMAGA Barbie.\u201d Cunningham first started getting attention for these high-profile moments of her defending her teammate Clark on the court. Both Cunningham and Clark are white and straight in a league that is predominantly Black and LGBTQ+ inclusive. And these moments quickly became fodder, as noted, for a racist, right-wing backlash fueled by Fox News and other outlets against Black players, who were called overly aggressive and were subject to racist harassment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then in a July interview, Cunningham <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/wnba\/story\/_\/id\/49306657\/sophie-cunningham-finger-point-indiana-fever-wnba\">told ESPN<\/a> that she wanted to \u201cprotect young girls in a locker room\u201d from \u201cbiological men.\u201d Her comments brought yet another round of hate to the doorsteps of the WNBA, leading to protests at the games over transgender participation in sports.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In August, two former NBA players, Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White, announced that they were declaring for the 2027 WNBA draft, in a transphobic stunt to force the league to have a policy on transgender female athletes, even though there are no transgender women in the WNBA. Here\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/outkick-sports\/former-nba-player-royce-white-declaring-next-wnba-draft-enes-kanter-announcement\">White<\/a> and then <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/outkick-sports\/enes-kanter-freedom-exposes-natasha-clouds-profane-tirade-ingraham-angle-wnba-ejection\">Kanter Freedom<\/a> arguing on Fox programs that they should qualify.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Royce White:<\/strong> I identify as sometimes identifying as a woman for purpose of basketball, professional basketball. So I\u2019ll be declaring for the WNBA draft in 2027 as well.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Enes Kanter Freedom:<\/strong>? Article 13 in Section 1 says if you identify as a woman, then you\u2019re allowed to play.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Laura Ingraham: <\/strong>So you are identifying as a woman tonight?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Enes Kanter Freedom: <\/strong>Sure. I identify as a woman. Sure. Yes. So I can play.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>JW: <\/strong>Kanter Freedom was later kicked out of a [August 23] Chicago Sky game for disrupting the game and for now has been banned from <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/kareemcopeland\/status\/2092350607889727537?s=46\">Wintrust Arena<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the project is bigger than just one sports league.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We get into how the right is attempting to use transphobia and racism to roll back Title IX and women\u2019s rights more broadly. This isn\u2019t just a fight about sports \u2014 the Supreme Court, state attorneys general, and the Trump administration are actively coming for transgender rights as well as women\u2019s rights and, frankly, all of our rights.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>AL<\/strong>: It sounds like I have a lot to learn about this, so let\u2019s hear that conversation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>JW: <\/strong>Joining me now is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/arperry01\/?hl=en\">Angela Perry<\/a>, a content creator who regularly delivers hot takes on the WNBA and women\u2019s basketball, @arperry01. You can find her on TikTok, Instagram, and across all social platforms.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Angela, welcome to The Intercept Briefing<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Angela Perry:<\/strong> Thank you, glad to be here.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>JW:<\/strong> Also joining us is journalist Katelyn Burns, who writes for the independent newsletter <a href=\"https:\/\/www.burnsnotice.com\/\">Burns Notice<\/a> and co-hosts the <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/cancel-me-daddy\/id1550508625\">Cancel Me, Daddy<\/a> podcast. Katelyn, welcome to the show.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Katelyn Burns:<\/strong> Hi, thanks for having me.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>JW:<\/strong> The WNBA is having a moment. Viewership is way up. Attendance for this year\u2019s All-Star WNBA game surpassed the NBA\u2019s All-Star game. Games and events can be viewed in a record number of places, from broadcast to cable and streaming. And just this week, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/wnba\/story\/_\/id\/49718513\/dream-angel-reese-sets-wnba-single-game-season-rebounding-records\">Angel Reese<\/a> of the Atlanta Dream team set a single-game record. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the stories about the WNBA capturing national attention in recent weeks are about none of that. Instead, two retired NBA players have captured national headlines, including Enes Kanter Freedom. Freedom showed up courtside wearing a T-shirt that said, \u201cWoman: noun. adult human female.\u201d Angela, you shared a really <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DcbRTsrxP0q\/\">incisive take<\/a> on social media. I want to start with you. What is going on here?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>AP:<\/strong> I think when we remove the WNBA, and we look at the political climate in America, there\u2019s an attack on trans people. So I think that\u2019s something worth noting because trans men and women have not been an issue in the WNBA or in the MNBA, ever. But because this has been something that a political side has used over the last few years, it has now infiltrated itself in the WNBA.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The person that you mentioned, I refuse to learn his name, has used this as a tool. I don\u2019t believe that he\u2019s being genuine in any realm, in order to create this mass hysteria of sorts for an issue that\u2019s actually simply a non-issue. There are no trans women in the WNBA; there are none attempting to be in the WNBA.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What we find here are just cis men who are trying to capitalize off of the discourse and create what looks like hostility. It\u2019s just disheartening because it\u2019s taking the focus away from things like you just said, Angel Reese breaking records. There\u2019s a lot of people breaking records: Olivia Miles, Caitlin Clark. There\u2019s so much actually happening, and then what we end up talking about the next day is this person who\u2019s trying to take the headlines into a dark place. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And the people who aren\u2019t watching the WNBA \u2014 that\u2019s all they\u2019re going to hear, that\u2019s all they\u2019re going to see. They don\u2019t know what\u2019s going on.\u00a0And then they will be in my comments section, saying, \u201cWell, he looks like he\u2019s standing up for women!\u201d So they actually have it completely wrong, based on getting the snippets and the sound bites from that person. So it\u2019s pretty disheartening.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>JW:<\/strong> That\u2019s something that I\u2019ve been thinking about even in talking about this on the podcast is, are we giving this more attention? But it feels like we have to talk about this because they\u2019re distorting this issue so much. Katelyn, I want to get your thoughts as well here.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>KB:<\/strong> This is such a frustrating conversation. Specifically, this issue is about trans women. And the frustrating part for me as a trans person, as a journalist, is that trans women have essentially been driven out of sports at any level beyond high school in a handful of blue states. I hate to say it, but politically, it\u2019s a settled issue. But the right has made such hay out of trans women in women\u2019s sports that they need to keep inventing controversies in order to keep this issue front of mind.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We have a midterm election coming up, and to be frank with you, the only thing that the right has done besides terrorizing immigrants is banning trans women from women\u2019s sports. It\u2019s at the center of almost all of their policies. So what you\u2019re seeing now is they are inventing controversies about trans people in sports where there are no trans people involved.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cThe only thing that the right has done besides terrorizing immigrants is banning trans women from women\u2019s sports.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Angela made the point: There are no trans women in the WNBA. There\u2019s never been an out trans woman in the WNBA before. There are no out trans women college players. More than half the states in the country ban trans women from playing high school basketball, so there\u2019s no pathway to make it to the WNBA.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is a conversation about something that is not going to happen anytime soon, that is being drummed up for completely political purposes, just because the league has vague wording in their collective bargaining agreement over who is <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.com\/GMA\/Culture\/wnba-faces-controversy-transgender-eligibility-nba-players-declare\/story?id=135516906\">eligible to play<\/a>. What you are seeing is just the exploitation of that gray language in the CBA to drive negative attention on the league as a whole.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>JW:<\/strong> I want to get into the league\u2019s response and how they\u2019re dealing with all of this. Katelyn, you had written about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.burnsnotice.com\/heres-how-the-wnba-can-win-the-anti-trans-controversy\/\">what the league should say<\/a>, but I also want to just ask what they <em>are<\/em> saying. Can you talk a little bit about what you think their strategy should be going forward and what their strategy has been so far?<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>KB:<\/strong> The league\u2019s not doing itself any favors with all of this. I think that they are too afraid to take a stance in tamping down these protests and the antics of these men who are trying to intrude upon the game.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It started with <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.com\/GMA\/Culture\/seattle-storm-owner-suspended-after-fan-confrontation\/story?id=135231126\">suspending a Seattle team co-owner<\/a> who confronted some anti-trans protesters who were at a game. Then it escalated again with Enes Kanter Freedom at this latest game, getting into it with a player on the court. He was <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/wnba-enes-kanter-freedom-chicago-sky-6e8303ad31107d948fa4f0aa9e430b16\">escorted<\/a> out of the building, but now they\u2019re saying they\u2019re not going to ban him from all of the WNBA games. So he\u2019s just free to show up and harass another player on the court.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How you protect women out of harassing women basketball players doesn\u2019t add up to me, but I guess it makes sense in the bizarro world of the anti-trans movement. They have come out and ruled that neither of these players \u2014 by the way, Royce White was running for office when he pulled his stunt, and then he got his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/2026-primary-elections\/minnesota-senate-results\">ass kicked in his election<\/a>, so that was really funny.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But, they\u2019ve come out and said that <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/wnba-enes-kanter-freedom-royce-white-4b23db1f7817caa2a5de018fa7c94b86\">neither of them are eligible<\/a> to play because, clearly neither of them identify as women, which is the current language of the rules in the league. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.burnsnotice.com\/heres-how-the-wnba-can-win-the-anti-trans-controversy\/\">My proposal<\/a> was, just go back to how sports used to treat trans women in sports: establish a testosterone limit and regular testing and prove that you\u2019ve suppressed it for an extended period of time, and then allow somebody to play.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-right\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cEnes Kanter Freedom is not going to go take estrogen just to continue this stunt.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Studies have shown that there is no biological advantage from trans women, no broad-based biological advantage for trans women. None of these grifters can intrude upon the game that way. That was my proposal. Enes Kanter Freedom is not going to go take estrogen just to continue this stunt. It\u2019s just not going to happen.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That was my idea. I think, in general, the league should take more of a stance of protecting their own players \u2014 because the more you allow this to fester, the more you\u2019re going to start seeing, \u201cOh, this player on this team that beat us is more muscular than a woman should be. Maybe they are trans.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We\u2019ve seen this before with the Olympics, with Imane Khelif, the Algerian boxer who won a gold medal and was the subject to a <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2024\/08\/02\/olympics-algeria-boxer-imane-khelif\/\">worldwide witch hunt over her gender<\/a>, despite the fact that she was born female, raised as a girl, and happened to get into boxing.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>JW:<\/strong> It is this crazy world where you\u2019re seeing the kind of trans-vestigating now of WNBA players. As you\u2019ve both mentioned, there are no transgender women in the WNBA, and yet we\u2019re seeing people now say, \u201cWell, this person is trans, this person is trans.\u201d And it is mostly coming along racial lines, from what we\u2019re mostly seeing, this is mostly targeting of Black women.<\/p>\n<div class=\"newsletter-embed flex-col items-center print:hidden\" id=\"third-party--article-mid\" data-module=\"InlineNewsletter\" data-module-source=\"web_intercept_20241230_Inline_Signup_Replacement\">\n<div class=\"-mx-5 sm:-mx-10 p-5 sm:px-10 xl:-ml-5 lg:mr-0 xl:px-5 bg-accentLight hidden\" data-name=\"subscribed\">\n<h2 class=\"font-sans font-light uppercase text-[30px] leading-8 text-white tracking-[0.01em] mb-0\">\n      We\u2019re independent of corporate interests \u2014 and powered by members. 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In the MNBA, when there was an irate person in the crowd \u2014 that person was banned for life. And it sent the message that this was unacceptable. It also makes me think the people who are doing it are part of the reason that the punishments aren\u2019t that harsh as well.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-right\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cThis is about policing women, in general.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Like Katelyn mentioned, this is not necessarily about trans people. This is about policing women, in general. Because there\u2019s masculine women, and it\u2019s a way for the powers that be to try to say, \u201cI don\u2019t know if that person deserved to win because they\u2019re stronger, so now let\u2019s investigate if they are actually a woman.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What does that mean? What are we going to do? Start examining women, girls, even? That\u2019s the thing \u2014 this side that talks about protecting girls, you want your 11 or 12-year-old girls to be examined by <em>who<\/em> because they want to play baseball or softball or whatever have you.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So the bigger issue is that the people who think that they\u2019re protected, it\u2019s always going to get to the protected class eventually. Right now, the focus is trans, and people think they\u2019re safe because \u201cI\u2019m not trans. I\u2019m a cis woman and I\u2019m protected.\u201d But it will impact you.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cThe bigger issue is the men that are on the other side of this, they don\u2019t care about women\u2019s sports in general. So to them, if there was just no WNBA, they don\u2019t really care.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I think the bigger picture is Title IX. I think the bigger issue is the men that are on the other side of this, they don\u2019t care about women\u2019s sports in general. So to them, if there was just no WNBA, they don\u2019t really care. So that\u2019s the bigger picture, is protecting women means protecting <em>masculine<\/em> women that don\u2019t subscribe to social standards of what they\u2019re supposed to look like. To me, there shouldn\u2019t be any standards, but of course, we live in a society where there just are.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And then just protecting the women that are, like you said, already in the league. Why are we protecting this man who showed up, and treating him with any type of dignity, when<em> they<\/em> are the employees \u2014 the WNBA players.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And that\u2019s not just with this trans conversation. It\u2019s also with racism. The WNBA came out with the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wnba.com\/news\/wnba-unveils-no-space-for-hate-platform\">No space for hate<\/a>\u201d almost as a joke \u2014because I have not seen anything implemented from that the entire season. I haven\u2019t seen Cathy [Engelbert] since the All-Star Game; she\u2019s supposed to be the leader of this league. It\u2019s almost like she\u2019s afraid to speak up because she\u2019s afraid to lose the fan base of racist and transphobic people, which is honestly insane.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But in America, in a capitalist society, a dollar is a dollar \u2014 and they don\u2019t care if that dollar is coming from a racist or a true fan. In my opinion, if they would invest in the true fans, you would get more true fans, and you wouldn\u2019t have to take money from racist people or transphobic people or homophobic people. The list goes on and on. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To me, that\u2019s not a safe space in the WNBA for the fans or the players.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201c In America, in a capitalist society, a dollar is a dollar \u2014 and they don\u2019t care if that dollar is coming from a racist or a true fan.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>JW:<\/strong> To your point, Angela, Media Matters recently reported that Fox News spent \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediamatters.org\/fox-news\/fox-news-has-spent-over-13-12-hours-waging-wnba-culture-war-summer\">13 and a 1\/2 hours<\/a> waging a WNBA culture war this summer,\u201d gravitating between perceived racial grievances and trans inclusion.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I should note that the WNBA did issue a <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/wnba-transgender-task-force-99e137102826677747da7986025c8b69\">statement<\/a> saying, \u201cThere are no immediate eligibility matters affecting the WNBA, and we strongly denounce the bad faith efforts to use these topics to demean or marginalize others.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But because you brought up Title IX, and I think that\u2019s really the crux of what this is about, let\u2019s get straight into that. So shortly after the Supreme Court ruled to uphold state laws banning transgender girls from participating in school sports, the Heritage Foundation published a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heritage.org\/gender\/report\/title-ixs-failed-experiment-why-accommodating-sex-differences-beats-engineered-parity\">paper<\/a> calling Title IX \u2014 which bans sex-based discrimination in schools, including in school sports \u2014 a \u201cfailed experiment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The sports and culture site Defector pointed out that the author of the paper is Boise State professor Scott Yenor, who once called career-oriented women, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/defector.com\/is-the-rights-next-project-make-womens-sports-girly-again\">medicated, meddlesome, and quarrelsome<\/a>.\u201d He argues Title IX has led to \u201cmale-normed women\u2019s sports\u201d that are failing at \u201ccelebrating distinctly feminine virtues of service, grace, and character.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Katelyn, can you tell us what is the end game here?<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>KB:<\/strong> Oh, God. It\u2019s not great. This attitude was parodied in \u201cA League of Their Own,\u201d a movie from like 1992, I think. Don\u2019t quote me on that, please. There was a whole storyline and arc and a couple of scenes like mocking people who thought that women playing professional baseball would make them unfeminine.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-right\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019re trying to build a world where women are literally barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So they\u2019re trying to build a world where women are literally barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen. I <a href=\"https:\/\/www.burnsnotice.com\/the-heritage-foundation-is-coming-for-womens-sports\/\">wrote<\/a> about this Heritage Foundation memo that went out \u2014 or policy paper, I\u2019m not quite exactly sure what they labeled it, off the top of my head \u2014 but it\u2019s terrifying.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I have thought a lot about the intersection of gender and sports. I was a three-sport athlete growing up, and I was deeply in the closet, so I played boys\u2019 sports. I grew up in a time where teenagers didn\u2019t have the option to come out and transition. We didn\u2019t even know what being trans was sometimes back in the \u201980s and \u201990s when I was growing up. I can\u2019t imagine if I had found out that there was a way for me to transition but I had to give up the sports that I loved.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I am really sad that\u2019s the position that we\u2019re putting trans people in now, and I\u2019m really upset that people have not thought all of this through. First of all, they don\u2019t educate themselves about what hormones do. Everybody has hormones in their bodies \u2014 and no offense to the cis people who are listening, but you don\u2019t even know what your own hormones do. You <em>should<\/em> because it\u2019s an important part of your body. So they are using these bigoted stereotypes of trans women to scare you into rolling back gender politics 80 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cA League of Their Own,\u201d it was made in 1992, but it was about the \u201940s when World War II was happening. Angela mentioned, what are we going to do \u2014 inspect girls\u2019 genitals maybe? Yes, that\u2019s exactly what the Republicans and the right and the anti-trans movement are <a href=\"https:\/\/ohiocapitaljournal.com\/2022\/06\/17\/after-backlash-gop-leader-says-genital-inspections-wont-be-part-of-anti-trans-athlete-bill\/\">proposing<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I have to say, as somebody who writes about trans issues, who reads a lot about history, there\u2019s a great podcast called \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/listen\/cbc-podcasts\/1733-tested\">Tested<\/a>,\u201d which is about the struggle for intersex equality in athletics, and I highly recommend, if you\u2019re interested in this topic, to go listen to that.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-right\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cThe idea of sex testing originated with the 1936 Olympics that was hosted in Nazi Germany.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But also, the idea of sex testing originated with the 1936 [Berlin] Olympics that was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/sports\/sporting-scene\/a-forgotten-athlete-a-nazi-official-and-the-origins-of-sex-testing-at-the-olympics\">hosted in Nazi Germany<\/a>. And that shocks people when I say that. These are legacies of literal Nazis that we\u2019re, like, trying to reestablish here in the 2020s. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So what kind of world are they building? Not one that I want to live in.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>JW:<\/strong> If they can define what is a woman, and they can say that transgender women are not women, then they can tell you, \u201cThis is how you have to be a woman. You cannot sue your boss for sex-based discrimination. You cannot have equal funding for your sports teams because you\u2019re a girl.\u201d And that\u2019s the final play, and it\u2019s sad that to get there, they\u2019re going to bully a bunch of little girls, essentially. That\u2019s the start, and then the end is to take away everyone\u2019s rights.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Angela, I want to get your thoughts about this as well. Is this also just about sports, or is the goal to really target the entire anti-discrimination framework?<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>AP:<\/strong> Oh, no, this is about women in general. They\u2019re already talking about<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/aug\/09\/pete-hegseth-video-pastors-women-voting\"> not wanting women to have the right to vote<\/a>. That is being said out loud, on \u2014 I wouldn\u2019t say legitimate news stations, but they have channels \u2014 who are people currently in positions of power.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So this isn\u2019t just about sports. There\u2019s a political party trying to scale us back to what they perceive was a time where things were better. But really, it was when women were more controlled. And unfortunately, there\u2019s men in this country that don\u2019t like for women to have a voice because they realize that they\u2019re losing in that, I would say, game of life.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Men are losing without the inherent control that they had for centuries. We\u2019re in the first, I would say, 20 to 30 years where women have not been forced, essentially, by society into marriage. Yes, we\u2019ve had a choice, but as far as having our own credit cards, being able to purchase our own homes \u2014 things like that have been critical in order for women to live their own lives, not choose marriage, children, so forth and so on, which means that there are men who have not learned essentially life skills without a woman doing it for them.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-right\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cThis is much bigger than basketball.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They\u2019ve not been shown that because their father had it, their grandfather had it, and they don\u2019t know what to do. So what they\u2019ve decided is to go and try to change the landscape of America through laws and restricting what women are able to do. So yeah, I think this is much bigger than basketball.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Of course, I\u2019m a women\u2019s basketball content creator, so I talk about basketball and the intersections of it, but I\u2019m well aware that this is scary times. I just went and voted in my local election two weeks ago, and I\u2019m like, \u201cIs this going to be allowed in five years?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cI just went and voted in my local election two weeks ago, and I\u2019m like, \u2018Is this going to be allowed in five years?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>KB:<\/strong> I think that there are people who assume that if they are not trans, then they don\u2019t need to care about non-discrimination protections for trans people.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But I have to say that when there are legal protections for trans people, it also protects everybody else from discrimination based on the assumption that you\u2019re trans. What you\u2019re seeing is that the conservative side of the political aisle is trying to build an apparatus where they can just simply accuse somebody of being trans, and then they can do whatever they want.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They can sex discriminate to their heart\u2019s content as long as it\u2019s against a trans person or somebody that is assumed to be trans. The only way out of it is a very invasive process of you have to verify the sex that you were born with. I don\u2019t think that\u2019s a society that most people are prepared to accept, but it\u2019s one that is quickly forming.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So I wanted to say to those people who are like, \u201cOh, this is a complicated issue that I don\u2019t really know how I feel about,\u201d you should have feelings about it, because anybody, any day, could come along and say, \u201cHey, I think you\u2019re trans. You shouldn\u2019t be doing that.\u201d Then you\u2019re in a big mess that you have to get out of somehow. The only way to do it is by revealing deeply personal information about yourself.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>JW:<\/strong> Talking Points Memo reporter <a href=\"https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/the-weekender\/why-the-right-is-going-all-in-on-stoking-the-wnba-culture-wars\">Kate Riga<\/a> writes, \u201cIt\u2019s been clear for weeks that right-wing media, eager to distract from its leaders\u2019 woeful unpopularity and resulting fears about November\u2019s midterms, struck gold with its anti-trans, anti-WNBA crusade.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She goes on to say, \u201c[Sophie] Cunningham, white and willing, has been the protagonist the right needed to unfurl its narrative. But the anti-trans campaign, the grousing about professional basketball players being fouled, it\u2019s all in service of a grander mission. In the white Christian nationalist nation the Trump administration is openly trying to foist on the American public, a sports league where Black, gay players are celebrated and (recently, to a degree) paid well is a distinct danger.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Angela, I want to start with you. What are your thoughts? Do you think that this white Christian nationalist grift is working, or do you think people are getting sick of seeing this stoking of hate and this fear? Or is it having the impact that they want it to have?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>AP:<\/strong> I think people are getting sick of it. I don\u2019t think the Christian nationalism of it all is actually going to win. So I think it\u2019s a dying side that they still try to reignite over and over. It\u2019s going to get clickbait because we are people of habit. It\u2019s the internet. Even, I sometimes click on things just to see, what are they talking about now? But I don\u2019t think they\u2019re going to win overall.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It really does look like there is a tide turning. It doesn\u2019t look to be beneficial to those particular people. And so it looks as though as a whole more fans are for cohesive playing, more diversity. Especially in general, the WNBA fan is just a more open-minded fan, in my opinion as a person who\u2019s been watching the league for 30 years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You go to a game, and it\u2019s just every type of person. You get on the elevator, you\u2019ll have someone who\u2019s 60 all the way down to the 5-year-old, from white male to young Hispanics. It\u2019s just too much of a melting pot for them to try to get everyone out of it, and so I don\u2019t think it\u2019s going to win. That\u2019s my thoughts. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But if it does, you have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7539531\/2026\/08\/26\/unrivaled-womens-basketball-valuation\/\">Unrivaled<\/a>, you have some of these other leagues that have not so far allowed the same type of hate and rhetoric to infiltrate it, that the W could lose out on a really huge fan base. I think at the end of the day, they may do the right thing only because of money, not because they\u2019re trying to do the right thing. It\u2019s going to come down to money.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cThey may do the right thing only because of money, not because they\u2019re trying to do the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>JW:<\/strong> Yeah, no, I could see that. To me, white Christian nationalism is just the soup that we all swim in. My theory of everything is white Christian nationalism, when you get to the end of it. But I think they start to lose when you start to show your hand in really obvious ways.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I think it\u2019s hard to say, \u201cHuh, you\u2019re protecting women by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/2026\/aug\/24\/the-men-claiming-to-defend-womens-sports-are-throwing-sex-toys-at-female-athletes\">throwing sex toys at female athletes<\/a> while they\u2019re doing their job.\u201d I think that\u2019s when people start to say, \u201cWait a minute. Maybe this is not a movement of people that really care about women.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Katelyn, I want to know what you think. Is this working, or have they hit their kind of limit of ridiculousness where the public says, \u201cWait a minute, you\u2019re trying to say that people who protect trans people are ridiculous, and now we can clearly see that you\u2019re being ridiculous\u201d \u2014 or is it working?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>KB:<\/strong> I think it\u2019s working in that it keeps getting attention.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We\u2019re here doing this podcast, so in a lot of ways, that is something that they want to have happen. I do think that the two men who tried to jump on this train are widely known as being losers in a way, and so they\u2019re getting the loser stank on everything, which is kind of funny. I think that that has a bigger impact than we think.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/19thnews.org\/2025\/02\/riley-gaines-trans-sports-debate\/\">Riley Gaines<\/a> is a swimmer who is known for tying for fifth place with trans woman Lia Thomas in a college race, and she has turned that into a very lucrative career. But she\u2019s also going to be known as a loser. I think that ultimately is where everything is headed.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you look at what voters actually care about, they really don\u2019t care about trans issues. There\u2019s 10 people who base their vote on what a candidate thinks about trans issues, and they\u2019re all going to vote for Republicans pretty much, at least on the anti-trans side. We\u2019ve seen exit polling over and over again showing that trans issues are the <a href=\"https:\/\/glaad.org\/glaad-poll-supermajority-of-americans-support-brands-participating-in-pride\/\">lowest salience issue<\/a> in the minds of voters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">People care about the economy. People care about gas prices, grocery prices. They care about housing prices. They care about another foreign war. Nobody\u2019s going into the midterms thinking, \u201cOh, I have to vote for the anti-trans candidate.\u201d I shouldn\u2019t say nobody. There are people who will do that, but they\u2019ve already made up their minds.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So I don\u2019t think that you can convert even more people over to that type of thinking, nor do I think that you can win people back from that line of thinking. So I think that a lot of the time and effort spent trying to persuade people on this is really a sunk cost for those who are doing it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And I have pretty high hopes that in the end, justice will prevail, fairness will prevail, and the liberal order will not fall to Christian nationalism.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>JW:<\/strong> I\u2019m pretty happy to leave it there. Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White are losers, and we will not fall to white Christian nationalism.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thank you both so much for joining. Really appreciate having you on The Intercept Briefing.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>AP:<\/strong> Thank you so much for inviting me.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>KB:<\/strong> Thank you, thank you.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>JW: <\/strong>We want to hear from you. Tell us what you\u2019re following or want to see more coverage of. Email us at <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2026\/08\/28\/wnba-women-basketball-sports-trans\/mailto:podcasts@theintercept.com\">podcasts@theintercept.com<\/a> or leave us a voice mail at 530-POD-CAST that\u2019s 530-763-2278<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That does it for this episode.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This episode was produced by Laura Flynn. Ben Muessig is our editor-in-chief. Maia Hibbett is our managing editor.\u00a0Fei Liu is our product and design manager. Nara Shin is our copy editor. William Stanton mixed our show. Legal review by David Bralow. Slip Stream provided our theme music.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This show and our reporting at The Intercept do not exist without you. Your donation, no matter the amount, makes a real difference. Keep our investigations free and fearless at <a href=\"https:\/\/join.theintercept.com\/donate\/Donate_Podcast?source=interceptedshoutout&amp;recurring_period=one-time\">theintercept.com\/join<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And if you haven\u2019t already, please subscribe to The Intercept Briefing wherever you listen to podcasts. Do leave us a rating or a review, it helps other listeners to find us.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Until next time, I\u2019m Jessica Washington.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.tiktok.com\/embed.js\"><\/script>#RightWing #Trans #Hate #WNBA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The WNBA is having a moment. 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