The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a legal organization known for its successful Supreme Court challenges upholding state laws designed to protect women's sports, has issued a cautionary notice to the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
ADF submitted a letter to WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert on Friday, following two separate incidents that involved supporters of WNBA player Sophie Cunningham at games in Seattle and Atlanta.
Concerns Over Fan Expression at Games
A representative from ADF indicated that these situations could potentially lead to legal action. When questioned about whether civil liberties were violated during the incidents in Atlanta and Seattle, the representative affirmed, "Absolutely. The fans should be able to go and be respected in voicing their viewpoints."
While no lawsuit has been initiated, ADF is advocating for the WNBA to establish more explicit policies and to provide training for league employees and security personnel to ensure these policies are applied consistently and fairly.
"The WNBA claims to stand for female athletes, but we’ve seen recent current events undermine that claim," the ADF representative stated. "We have seen just in the past few weeks that there have been two separate incidents where fans have been silenced or berated when they tried to peacefully express their viewpoint."
Seattle Incident Involving Storm Owner
The first reported incident took place on July 28 during a game between the Indiana Fever and the Seattle Storm at Climate Pledge Arena. Two teenage girls were seated courtside, wearing XX-XY Athletics shirts and displaying signs in support of Sophie Cunningham, who had recently voiced her opposition to transgender athletes participating in girls’ and women’s sports. One of their signs read, "Thank you Sophie for speaking up for girls!"
Reportedly, Seattle Storm minority owner Celeste Keaton approached the girls, using expletives and criticizing their message. According to the family, one of the girls was left in tears. Subsequently, the WNBA fined Keaton and prohibited her from attending the Storm’s next five home games. The Seattle Storm organization also issued an apology, emphasizing that all attendees at their games deserve to feel welcome.
Atlanta Incident with Security Personnel
A similar dispute occurred on August 16 during a Fever game against the Atlanta Dream. Kasey Thomason and her teenage daughter, Annie, attended the game wearing XX-XY Athletics shirts. During the overtime period, WNBA security personnel reportedly instructed them to cover their shirts or exit the arena. A third fan, who was wearing a shirt supporting transgender rights, was also told to cover their attire.
The WNBA later acknowledged that its security personnel had improperly restricted the fans’ clothing. The league released a statement saying, "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 Atlanta Dream team clarified that its own employees were not involved in the decision. "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 stated. "At no point was Dream personnel involved in the decisions made by WNBA security." The league reportedly informed the security workers that their actions were inappropriate.
WNBA Response and Call for Clearer Policies
While acknowledging that the WNBA’s statements were an important initial response, the ADF representative noted that the Atlanta incident demonstrated that the league had not taken sufficient action following the confrontation in Seattle.
"I think it’s absolutely a first step for the WNBA to say at least that they don’t stand behind what happened in those incidents, but the fact that after the first time they, you know, they said that they didn’t stand behind the co-owner’s berating of the teenage girls, but then again a few weeks later a similar incident occurred shows that more needs to be done," the representative asserted. "The WNBA needs to clarify their policy, educate their staff and partners that they need to respect the viewpoints of people regardless of what those beliefs are that they’re, that the fans are expressing."
The ADF representative conceded that the league could impose reasonable limits on how fans express themselves. However, she stressed that these restrictions must be applied impartially, without favoring one side of the debate concerning transgender athletes.
"You can, you can have reasonable restrictions on the manner in which things are expressed, but it needs to be equal across the viewpoints being expressed," she explained. "It can’t be that one, one side of the argument is silenced while the other side is amplified."
Broader Debate on Player Eligibility
This controversy unfolds as the WNBA is in the process of considering whether to clarify its player eligibility rules. The league’s collective bargaining agreement currently stipulates that "only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA," but it does not provide a definition of the term based on biological sex or gender identity. Commissioner Engelbert recently informed team officials that a task force comprising presidents and general managers would continue discussions on transgender participation, noting that the league’s eligibility rules are collectively bargained.
ADF is also seeking clarity from the league on this question. "So I think another step is providing clarity to their players and their future players on who’s eligible to compete in the WNBA," the representative stated. "Is it limited to females?"
League's Stance and Future Path
Commissioner Engelbert commented on Thursday, prior to the Fever’s game against the Dallas Wings, that individuals were attempting to use the league to "sow divisiveness" and transform it into a "political football." She also condemned what she referred to as "haters" targeting the league amidst the ongoing debate.
ADF has indicated its preference to collaborate with the WNBA to prevent future conflicts rather than immediately pursuing litigation. "The preferred path would be to have this be a stepping off stone for the WNBA to make sure that going forward they’re really respecting the rights of all fans," the representative concluded.
Attempts were made to obtain a response from the WNBA concerning the letter and Ms. Beecher's claims.