It may be the dog days of summer, punctuated by the reprieve of the All-Star break, but the WNBA has been anything but quiet. Comments made by the Fever’s Sophie Cunningham in a July 21 ESPN feature have reverberated across the league. “I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men,” Cunningham said. Groups supporting Cunningham’s views on transgender participation in sports have rallied around Fever games. Rallies also surrounded the Lynx-Fever game on Sunday, with some gathering in support of Cunningham and her views and others speaking out against Cunningham’s remarks and in support of trans inclusion in sports. Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve wore a shirt that read “Trans Kids Belong In Sports,” and she could be seen having a passionate conversation with Cunningham before the game. “Both of us understand that we have platforms and we both talked about wanting to, more than anything, educate,” Reeve told the media after Sunday’s contest. When Cunningham’s teammate, Caitlin Clark, was asked about transgender participation in sports, the Fever star simply stated, “I think it’s for leagues and governing bodies to work with their athletes to find solutions.”
Unfortunately, this issue is another instance of the league caught on the back foot of a cultural lightning rod, with little to no messaging in anticipation of a contentious topic. The more individual players and teams garner attention in the broader pop-culture and political ecosystem, the more the league and its franchises need to be prepared to address and pre-empt these conversations properly. Directing reporters to stick to basketball questions, as the Fever PR did when White was asked a question about Cunningham’s comments and the rallies during a press conference, isn’t satisfactory or a sustainable tactic in this ever-growing league. There has to be a less reactive and more anticipatory approach to messaging and communication, otherwise the on-court product will continue to be overshadowed.
