The WNBA has admitted that league security personnel were wrong to ask fans to cover shirts with messages about transgender women in women's sports during Sunday's game between the Atlanta Dream and the Indiana Fever at State Farm Arena. In a statement released Monday, the league said the fans should have been permitted to wear the shirts, adding, "This should not have happened."
Multiple Fans Affected
At least three fans were involved in the incidents. According to multiple outlets, two fans wore shirts from XX-XY Athletics, a brand advocating for women's and girls' sports to be restricted to those assigned female at birth. Another fan was asked to cover a shirt supporting transgender people. The Athletic reported that a fan wearing a "Protect Trans Kids" shirt was briefly shown on the arena video board, while another person wearing a "Trans kids belong in sports" shirt appeared during the TV broadcast.
The league's statement said: "The WNBA is aware of interactions at [Sunday] night's game in Atlanta in which fans were asked by league security to cover their shirts. This should not have happened." The league has since informed the security workers from the Atlanta game that their actions were incorrect.
Background on Transgender Debate
The incident comes amid ongoing discussions about whether transgender women—people assigned male at birth who transition to align with their gender identity—should be allowed to participate in the league. Notably, there has never been a transgender woman player in the WNBA. While the league's collective bargaining agreement states that the WNBA is restricted to women, it does not contain specific language about gender identity or sex assigned at birth. Some players who were assigned female at birth have later come out as transgender or nonbinary.
Sophie Cunningham of the Fever said in an ESPN profile last month that she opposed transgender girls and women competing in girls' and women's sports. Her stance sparked small rallies and protests outside Fever games in Seattle and Portland. Storm minority owner Celeste Keaton received a five-game ban for confronting two fans who were holding signs supporting Cunningham.
Team and League Response
The Atlanta Dream clarified that the team was not involved in the security personnel's decisions. "The Atlanta Dream believes in creating a safe and inclusive environment for everyone. Unfortunately, at last night's game, WNBA security took actions that fell short of that standard," the team said in a statement. "At no point was Dream personnel involved in the decisions made by WNBA security."
The league's acknowledgment marks a step toward addressing the incident, but the broader debate over transgender participation in women's sports remains unresolved. The WNBA has not announced any further policy changes or disciplinary actions beyond informing the security workers that their instructions were wrong.
