OPINION:
The WNBA finds itself wrapped around not one, but two axles, an unfortunate circumstance entirely of its own making — and needlessly so.
That’s regrettable for the Women’s National Basketball Association, coming at a time when the league finally seems to be on the cusp of a wider public following and respectability after three decades of being largely ignored and not taken seriously.
Indiana Fever superstars Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham can take credit for much of the newfound appreciation for the WNBA, including for t-shirts sprouting up that read “Everyone watches women’s sports.”
Additionally, Ms. Clark’s No. 22 and Ms. Cunningham’s No. 8 together reportedly account for a whopping 71% of all sales of WNBA jerseys.
Yet, inexplicably and indefensibly, the league does not treat them as the invaluable—arguably irreplaceable—assets that they are, having to be shamed and badgered into suspending rival teams’ players for egregiously “flagrant foul” physical assaults on Ms. Clark and Ms. Cunningham that go well beyond the inherent rough-and-tumble play of the game.
At the same time, the WNBA continues to suffer from another self-inflicted public relations black eye over exactly who is eligible to play in the league.
We presume that former NBA stars Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White are engaging in a silly publicity stunt in declaring themselves eligible for the WNBA draft next April. But that spectacle is possible only because WNBA team presidents and league officials to date have adamantly refused to insist that the “W” in WNBA stands for (real) women only.
We would hope that Messrs. Freedom and White are merely calling the league’s bluff for satirical purposes.
Reminiscent of Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s buffoonish assertion — because she’s “not a biologist” — that she couldn’t define what a woman is, hyperwoke WNBA officials are angry at having an unwelcome spotlight turned on their seeming unwillingness to categorically rule out allowing transgender “women” (aka men) to play.
The stridently pro-LGBTQ league on Aug. 12 issued a statement critical of those raising red flags about the possibility of faux females being permitted to join the WNBA — at a time when a transgender “woman” currently playing in France declared his interest in doing just that.
“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,” a league spokesperson said following an online meeting of its “anti-hate” task force.
The league’s collective-bargaining agreement stipulates that “only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA” — but it doesn’t include specific language about gender identity, nor does it address the liberal-speak concept of “sex assigned at birth.”
On Aug. 7, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert sent a memo to team presidents and general managers saying the league would discuss the issue of transgender “women,” all the while insisting that ensuring fair competition is among her highest priorities.
“We recognize that this is a complex and nuanced topic, and we will continue to have important conversations with all of you and the Players Association in the weeks and months ahead,” she wrote.
However frivolous, Mr. White’s and Mr. Freedom’s declarations that they “identify” as women under the WNBA’s current ambiguous standards and as such qualify to play, it could well force the league’s hand on the issue.
The WNBA should follow the lead of the Women’s Tennis Association, which in July changed its policy to require its players to take a one-time cheek-swab genetic gender test to establish eligibility. Reuters confirmed last week that the WTA has indeed begun testing for the SRY gene, which helps determine biological sex.
It would be a sensible slam-dunk for the WNBA to do likewise, and it would end the terrible PR surrounding the issue once and for all.
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