Geno Auriemma calls WNBA transgender athlete debate ‘manufactured’

UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma downplayed the transgender athlete debate roiling the WNBA, arguing the controversy has been overblown by people seeking personal gain.

“Why are we making a big issue over an issue that doesn’t exist?” Auriemma told TMZ Sports this week. He said he was unaware of any transgender players currently in the league and argued attention should instead go to the WNBA’s rising young talent and competitive teams. Some people, he said, are stoking the issue “for their own personal gain.”

The debate has consumed the league since Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham said in a July ESPN feature that young girls “shouldn’t have to go against biological men” in sports. Her comments drew national attention, including from the White House, and triggered weeks of backlash and support across the league.

That controversy intensified this month when former NBA players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White declared themselves eligible for the 2027 WNBA Draft, arguing the league’s collective bargaining agreement — which states “only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA” but does not define the term further — should apply to them under self-identification.

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert responded with a memo to teams, writing that the topic is “complex and nuanced” and that the league would continue talks with the players’ union. The WNBA separately said it embraces diversity and inclusion but would “not be used as political pawns.”

Four WNBA head coaches have weighed in publicly, with Minnesota’s Cheryl Reeve and Golden State’s Natalie Nakase voicing support for including transgender athletes in women’s sports.

The scale of the issue nationally remains small. NCAA President Charlie Baker told a Senate panel in December 2024 testimony that he was aware of fewer than 10 transgender athletes among more than 500,000 NCAA student-athletes.