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Caitlyn Jenner believes there’s a “simple” resolution to the WNBA bylaw controversy that ignited after former NBA players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White said they’re identifying as women and declared for next year’s league draft.
Jenner—who won a gold medal in decathlon as Bruce Jenner at the 1976 Summer Olympics, and transitioned in 2015—spoke to Trace Gallagher on Fox News @ Night about the situation.
“They’re showing the hypocrisy of what’s going on out there in the WNBA,” Jenner said, referring to Kanter and White. “The WNBA had their meetings on this issue and Cathy [Engelbert], the head, says, ‘We talked about the trans issue, but we just haven’t come up with a conclusion at this point. We will continue the conversation.’ Cathy: XX, you’re in. XY, you’re out. It’s that simple.”
The WNBA Collective Bargaining Agreement, ratified earlier this year, says that “only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA” but does not specify how it’s determined who qualifies as a woman.
The WNBA held a “task force” of different team officials this past week, issuing a statement denouncing “bad-faith efforts” of unnamed individuals but not making any precise declarations about what, if any, distinctions would be made about player eligibility.
“Today’s meeting covered a wide range of topics, including ongoing discussions on transgender athletes and the continued hate and vitriol directed at players online,” the league’s statement said. “We will continue to engage all league stakeholders in the coming weeks and months. We will approach these important conversations thoughtfully and in alignment with the values of our league. There 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.”
On Fox News, Jenner continued, “We have to protect women’s sports … I want to protect women’s sports. Title IX was one of the greatest legislations … for women’s equality—that happened to be in sports.”
The broader issue has been percolating in sports for several years, coming into the mainstream spotlight when transgender swimmer Lia Thomas competed for Penn and won a national championship in 500-yard freestyle in 2022. Jenner has taken a consistent stance on the matter since then.
The conversation picked up in WNBA circles last month after Fever guard Sophie Cunningham told ESPN the Magazine reporter Hallie Grossman she wasn’t afraid to “protect women’s sports.”
“I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I’m like, ‘I never once said that,’” Cunningham said. “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.”
Since Cunningham’s remarks, there have been demonstrations both in favor and against her stance. In one instance, the situation boiled over in Seattle, as Storm minority owner Celeste Keaton confronted a pair of teen girl Cunningham fans and allegedly called them “effing insane.” The Storm apologized for the incident, and Keaton was suspended for five home games. Cunningham has doubled down.
Other sports bodies, including the Olympics and WTA, have moved forward with stricter protocols for who may compete. Earlier this week, women’s world No. 3 tennis player Jessica Pegula confirmed to Front Office Sports that the WTA has begun genetic testing for female eligibility purposes.
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