WNBA star admits she would ‘welcome’ a trans player on her team as divided league’s culture war rages on

Not everyone is aligning themselves with Sophie Cunningham’s position on transgender athletes in women’s sports.

Golden State Valkyries star Gabby Williams said in a recently surfaced interview that she would welcome a trans player into the WNBA. What’s more, she sees transgender rights as ‘our issue,’ although she didn’t specify if she was referring to the league, specifically.

‘I think trans rights, right now, is our new battle,’ Williams said, adding: ‘We see people’s trans rights being stripped away from them; there’s a lot of discourse around trans athletes and what they can compete in.

‘I would welcome a trans athlete on my team or against my team, anytime,’ Williams added. ‘I don’t think it’s a problem in the world. 

Williams went on to refer to Layshia Clarendon, the league’s first openly non-binary player whose 11-year WNBA career came to an end in 2024. She came out as non-binary in 2020 after being assigned female at birth.

It’s unclear if Williams was speaking to a group of reporters or a single outlet, but video of the interview containing the logo for sports website, The Local W, did circulate online. 

Williams sees trans rights as a major issue and believes trans people are being marginalized

Williams referenced Layshia Clarendon, the league’s first openly non-binary player. She came out as non-binary in 2020 after being assigned female at birth. Ultimately she’d retire in 2024

Meanwhile, back in Indianapolis, Cunningham and the Indiana Fever received a friendly welcome back home as they fell to the visiting Las Vegas in overtime following their highly contentious road trip.

A lone protester outside Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Thursday made his argument in support of Cunningham’s opposition to transgender athletes in women’s sports. Inside, the signs carried messages such as ‘I want to play like Sophie’ and ‘Thank you for standing up for girls, Sophie!’

That wasn’t the reception Cunningham got last week in Seattle, Portland or Minnesota, where coach Cheryl Reeve wore a T-shirt during Sunday’s game with the message ‘Trans kids belong.’

The Fever are expected to be greeted with another rally when they travel to Chicago on Saturday because Cunningham has not backed off her stance despite the criticism.

Political activist Riley Gaines claimed that a WNBA staffer told her to put down her sign which threw support behind star Sophie Cunningham amid the ongoing trans athlete debate

People hold signs after comments made by Sophie Cunningham on transgender athletes before a WNBA basketball game between the Minnesota Lynx and Indiana Fever

A protestor speaks in favor of trans athletes amid the nationwide debate over the issue 

‘I was asked a question and that’s simply what it was. I wasn’t trying to make a statement. I was trying to clear the air, and I did that, back in February, so it is what it is,’ she said Wednesday at practice.

‘We’re in the middle of the season, so I’m going to keep it at that. Our team is good, my teammates are good, our locker room is great.’

Cunningham has been at the center of a bitter trans debate over the past week after comments she made to ESPN that young girls ‘shouldn’t have to go against biological men’ when playing sports.

The league does not have any transgender players who were assigned male at birth, nor have there ever been any such players in the WNBA. And while a few cases of transgender athletes at the NCAA level have made national news, trans student athletes are rare in the extreme.

In 2024, NCAA president Charlie Baker estimated there were fewer than 10 competing at the time.