Ladies and gentlemen, we finally have an answer from the WNBA.
asserted
we → have → WNBA
After months of questions about who is eligible to compete in women's professional basketball, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has declared in an official letter that I am not eligible to play in the league.
asserted
I → compete → league
Because Cuckoo Cathy identified me as a man.
asserted
Cathy → identify → man
I was as shocked as you probably are to learn that a league that can't define what a woman is can so confidently identify a man.
asserted
woman → learn → man
But apparently, telling me I can't play wasn't enough.
asserted
I → tell → me
Now, the WNBA doesn't even want me in the stands as a paying customer.
asserted
WNBA → want → customer
I believe every woman who steps onto a basketball court deserves the opportunity to compete fairly.
asserted
who → believe → opportunity
I believe female athletes deserve to have their concerns heard, even when their opinions are unpopular.
asserted
opinions → believe → ?
And I believe no athlete should feel pressured to sacrifice her convictions to protect her career.
asserted
athlete → believe → career
On Wednesday night, I traveled to Atlanta to attend Game 3 of the WNBA Finals.
asserted
I → travel → Finals
I purchased premium courtside tickets, just like any other basketball fan.
asserted
I → purchase → fan
But when I arrived, I was informed that I would not be allowed to sit in the seats I purchased.
asserted
I → arrive → seats
Instead, they decided I would have to watch the game from a private suite and enter through a private entrance, supposedly for my safety.
asserted
I → decide → safety
I appreciate the concern for my safety.
asserted
I → appreciate → safety
But I have spent years speaking out against authoritarian regimes that have threatened my life and my family.
asserted
that → spend → life
I am certainly not going to hide in a luxury suite because my presence makes someone uncomfortable.
asserted
someone → go → suite
I wanted to sit in the seats I paid for, watch the game, and continue standing up for women in sports.
asserted
I → want → sports
But when I refused to be moved out of sight, security denied me entry.
asserted
security → refuse → entry
I was escorted away from the arena.
asserted
I → escort → arena
For the second time, I was prevented from attending a WNBA game while speaking up for women.
asserted
I → prevent → women
The WNBA is apparently more comfortable removing me from its arena than answering the questions I am asking.
asserted
I → remove → questions
And those questions begin with Commissioner Engelbert's response to Congressman Marlin Stutzman of Indiana.
asserted
questions → begin → Indiana
In her letter, she wrote, "only women are eligible to play in the WNBA and the individuals you cite in your letter are both men."
asserted
you → write → letter
Notice what she did not say.
asserted
she → notice → what
She did not say that biological males are categorically ineligible to compete in the WNBA.
asserted
males → say → WNBA
She did not establish a biological standard for eligibility.
asserted
She → establish → eligibility
She simply declared that I am a man and therefore cannot play.
asserted
I → declare → ?
Who gave Commissioner Engelbert the authority to determine my identity?
asserted
Who → give → identity
What standards did she use to make that determination?
asserted
she → use → determination
And if she can so confidently identify me as a man, why can't the WNBA apply that same clarity to the question of who qualifies as a woman?
asserted
who → identify → woman
You cannot have it both ways.
asserted
You → have → it
The WNBA has reportedly assembled a task force to examine its eligibility policies.
uncertain
WNBA → assemble → policies
Yet we still have no publicly available, definitive policy establishing whether biological males who identify as women can compete in the league.
asserted
who → have → league
And still no clear answer to one of the most basic questions a women's sports league should be able to answer.
asserted
league → answer → questions
The women who have spent their entire lives training to compete at the highest level of their sport deserve to know that the rules protecting their opportunities will be applied fairly and consistently.
asserted
rules → spend → opportunities
And before that can happen, the rules must be clear.
asserted
rules → happen → ?
That is why I am pursuing the opportunity to compete under the WNBA's rules.
asserted
I → pursue → rules
I have played professional basketball at the highest level, and I am prepared to pursue a place on a team.
asserted
I → play → team
If the league believes I am ineligible, it should be able to identify the specific, consistently applied standard that disqualifies me.
asserted
that → believe → me
Instead, the WNBA has created a contradiction.
asserted
WNBA → create → contradiction
…and 52 more, not listed.
The Aporia
