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. 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. One fan quietly joked: “Now kiss!” “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.
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. But many wouldn’t know that from reading recent headlines about the league. Since the summer, the WNBA has become the target of rightwing activists pushing their agenda to ban trans women and girls from sports.
The league has no explicit rule barring or permitting trans women and there are no trans women in the WNBA. In response, many of the league’s players and fans have made clear they don’t align with anti-trans 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.
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. 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. Soon after, two former NBA players declared their intention to enter the WNBA draft. (The league said they were ineligible and condemned the 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.
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. 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. In August, the company’s founder was photographed courtside in XX-XY merch with Cunningham and the conservative anti-trans commentator Riley Gaines.
XX-XY supporters and influencers have also gathered outside Fever games with signs calling to “protect girls sports”. XX-XY did not respond to the Guardian’s request for comment. 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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