At Wilka’s Sports Bar in lower Manhattan, a crowd of mostly LGBTQ+ fans was fired up during a WNBA playoff game between the New York Liberty and the Atlanta Dream.
asserted
crowd → fire → Liberty
When the Liberty’s Jonquel Jones blocked the Dream’s star forward Angel Reese at the basket, then chest-bumped her – leading teammates to separate them – the bar erupted in cheers.
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bar → block → cheers
One fan quietly joked: “Now kiss!”
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fan → joke → ?
“I love strong women, and I love supporting strong women,” said August, a trans organizer and Liberty fan who asked to go by their first name for privacy reasons.
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who → love → reasons
The scene at Wilka’s, where a sign reading “trans people belong in sports” hangs prominently behind the bar, exemplifies much of the WNBA fanbase, which, like the league itself, is heavily queer.
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which → read → league
But many wouldn’t know that from reading recent headlines about the league.
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many → know → league
Since the summer, the WNBA has become the target of rightwing activists pushing their agenda to ban trans women and girls from sports.
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WNBA → become → sports
The league has no explicit rule barring or permitting trans women and there are no trans women in the WNBA.
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league → have → WNBA
In response, many of the league’s players and fans have made clear they don’t align with anti-trans rhetoric.
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align → make → rhetoric
Several players, like the Chicago Sky’s Natasha Cloud and the Golden State Valkyries’ Gabby Williams, have voiced their support for the trans community; Williams said in May that she would “welcome” a trans teammate anytime.
uncertain
she → voice → teammate
Fans, too, have loudly pushed back – holding rallies, bringing signs into the games and even defending their sports bars, meant as a safe space for women and LGBTQ+ fans, from aggression.
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Fans → push → aggression
As the WNBA finals between the Dream and the Golden State Valkyries tip off Saturday, the pro-trans, pro-Black, pro-queer fanbase wants to remind others of the original ethos of women’s sports: inclusion and community.
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fanbase → want → sports
“It’s not about protecting women’s sports,” Allie, another Liberty fan at Wilka’s who asked to go by their first name, said about the anti-trans backlash facing the WNBA.
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who → ’ → WNBA
”And I feel better knowing the fact that the majority of the fanbase is standing up, saying: ‘No, this isn’t right.’”
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this → feel → fanbase
Why the anti-trans backlash took off
The anti-trans fury surrounding the WNBA took off in July, when Sophie Cunningham, a backup guard for the Indiana Fever, said in an interview with ESPN that she wanted to “protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men” – an anti-trans dog-whistle used to misgender trans women.
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who → take → women
Soon after, two former NBA players declared their intention to enter the WNBA draft.
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players → declare → draft
(The league said they were ineligible and condemned the behavior.)
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they → say → behavior
It resulted in a media frenzy, with Fox News airing more than 200 segments about the league in July, the majority of which were about Cunningham’s comments.
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majority → result → comments
The sportswear company XX-XY, which lobbies women’s sports leagues and state legislatures to exclude players based on their assigned biological sex at birth, also rode the Cunningham media wave.
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which → lobby → wave
Its shirts bearing the brand’s name – referencing biological sex chromosomes – have become recognizable by players and fans as an anti-trans statement at games and events.
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shirts → bear → games
In August, the company’s founder was photographed courtside in XX-XY merch with Cunningham and the conservative anti-trans commentator Riley Gaines.
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founder → photograph → Cunningham
XX-XY supporters and influencers have also gathered outside Fever games with signs calling to “protect girls sports”.
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supporters → gather → sports
XX-XY did not respond to the Guardian’s request for comment.
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XY → respond → comment
“We know that this is really about trying to rile up a base of folks who already show some sort of anti-gender ideology,” meaning those who oppose the rights of women and LGBTQ+ people, said Anna Castro, deputy communications director at the Transgender Law Center.
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Castro → know → Center
What’s happening in the WNBA is representative of a broader rightwing push to roll back rights, healthcare and protections for trans people across the US.
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happening → happen → US
In June, the conservative-majority supreme court upheld the constitutionality of states banning trans girls’ participation in school sports.
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court → uphold → sports
This November, several state ballot initiatives claim to be about “protecting girls” from “biological males” in sports but effectively bar trans students from playing.
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initiatives → claim → students
A ballot measure in Washington, for example, would require all girls to “verify” their identity by a doctor.
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measure → require → doctor
And yet these policies don’t align with public opinion.
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policies → align → opinion
A June poll from the National Women’s Law Center found that voters do not support the supreme court setting official policy for trans athletes’ participation in sports, nor are they in favor of reversing state protections for trans student athletes.
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they → find → athletes
Resistance has played out at basketball arenas.
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Resistance → play → arenas
When the Fever played the Seattle Storm in late July, Storm co-owner Celeste Keaton confronted two XX-XY-sponsored courtside attendees and, according to one, told them “Jesus loves everyone” and “stop pulling this shit”.
uncertain
Jesus → play → shit
The WNBA then fined and suspended Keaton.
asserted
WNBA → fin → Keaton
When a group in XX-XY shirts arrived at the women’s sports bar Sports Bra in Portland, Oregon, in September, management asked them to leave based on its policy of removing anyone wearing messaging targeting the community.
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management → arrive → community
“At The Sports Bra, our mission is simple: support, promote, and empower ALL girls and women in sports,” the bar’s owners posted on Instagram.
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owners → support → Instagram
When a different group of rightwing anti-trans protesters arrived at the Sports Bra two weeks later, a group of neighborhood residents showed up in defense of the bar and its patrons; the rightwing protesters eventually sprayed the counter-protesters with bear spray.
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protesters → arrive → spray
The anti-trans harassment creates an environment where some fans said they are scared to go to games alone, but feel safer knowing other queer and trans fans are organizing to take a stand.
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fans → create → stand
Similarly, WNBA players are struggling to feel protected against increased racism and harassment from viewers.
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players → struggle → viewers
Last season, men started a trend of throwing dildos on the court during games, instigated by cryptocurrency investors; this season, it continued, with crypto influencers citing the conversation around trans women and the WNBA as their motivation.
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influencers → start → motivation
Black players like the Fever’s Kelsey Mitchell report facing constant racist invective on social media.
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players → report → media
…and 23 more, not listed.
The Aporia
