A series of recent displays from Sophie Cunningham supporters has put the WNBA’s biggest problem right at their doorstep.
Even as the league admits to some missteps, actually addressing the issue has been left to female supporters at league games.
‘Women should not be responsible for validating men’s trans identities.’
When a mother and daughter recently went to a high-profile game between the Atlanta Dream and Indiana Fever on Sunday, they silently supported Cunningham’s pro-woman stance by wearing pro-women apparel. The result was the pair being asked by WNBA security officials to cover up their clothing.
The Dream subsequently put the onus on the WNBA for the incident, saying, “WNBA security took actions that fell short” of their standard.
“At no point was Dream personnel involved in the decisions made by WNBA security,” the team added.
This forced the WNBA to acknowledge the “interactions” and say, “This should not have happened.”
By not addressing the actual issue, the league’s statements are meaningless, says Kasey Thomason, the mother who dared to wear “XX-XY” clothing at the Dream-Fever game.
Thomason told Blaze News, “The statements just pass the blame so they mean nothing.”
The mother added, “No one has reached out to us about the incident,” despite the high-profile nature of the event.
When Cunningham and the Fever went on the road to Canada to face the Toronto Tempo on Tuesday, supporters again came out, this time in droves.
Jennifer Arnold showed up with her group, Women & Girls Alberta, with a poster of Cunningham and a message that men do not belong in women’s sports.
Arnold relayed to Blaze News that about 200 people took photos with the poster, and overall it garnered a “very positive reception.”
Detractors allegedly totaled about six “young” protesters, and Arnold says that conversations with them revealed a general misconception about what her group actually believes.
“They falsely stated that people in favor of female-only sporting categories want to ban all people who identify as trans from sports altogether,” Arnold recalled. “We explained that is not true, and there are already biological women who identify as trans in women’s sports, and no one has an issue as they are female and therefore do not have a male performance advantage.”
The organizer also revealed that one of the counter-demonstrators, who was holding a “protect trans kids” sign, became agitated and appeared to grab a reporter’s phone.
RELATED: Cover up or ‘leave’? Mother and daughter say they were confronted at WNBA game over pro-women shirts
Kasey Thomason
Arnold concluded, “Women should not be responsible for validating men’s trans identities by giving up fairness on the court and privacy in the locker room.”
The hope from these fans turned activists is that the WNBA issues a female-only policy, akin to other women’s leagues. The WNBA already does, in theory, prohibit men. Article XIII, Section 1 of the WNBA’s 2026 collective-bargaining agreement says that “only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA.”
However, the league has refused to provide a definition for what they consider a woman to be, despite meeting to discuss the very issue earlier in August.
The league’s conclusion was: “There are no immediate eligibility matters affecting the WNBA.”
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Wnba, Women’s sports, Sophie cunningham, Basketball, Sports