Utah lawmakers join criticism of WNBA's stance on transgender athletes

SALT LAKE CITY — In the years since Utah passed a law banning transgender athletes from competing in high school sports, the national conversation around transgender individuals and sports has migrated to the professional level.

This summer, the focus of some conservatives has been on the WNBA, and Utah Sen. Mike Lee and Rep. Burgess Owens have recently joined the fray of voices criticizing the league and expressing support for a player who said she wants to protect "young girls in sport who shouldn't have to go against biological men."

Lee shared support Monday for Enes Kanter Freedom, a former NBA player, who was kicked out of a game between the Chicago Sky and Indiana Fever on Sunday. Kanter Freedom, who was drafted by the Utah Jazz in 2011, was wearing a shirt that read "WOMAN noun. adult human female" and was removed from the arena after a verbal confrontation with Chicago point guard Natasha Cloud.

"I just got kicked out of a @WNBA game for supporting WOMEN!" Kanter Freedom wrote on social media after.

"Wearing this shirt isn't 'harassing' anyone," Lee wrote on X, along with a picture of Kanter Freedom.

WNBA in the spotlight

The controversy stems in part from a July profile of Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham published by ESPN. Cunningham told the outlet that she wants to "protect women's sports."

"I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I'm like, 'I never once said that,'" she said. "I think that I am here to extend love. But I also think with that love is truth, being honest. And I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn't have to go against biological men."

The comments earned Cunningham praise from some conservatives who have pushed to prevent transgender athletes from competing on gendered teams that don't match their biological sex.

Kanter Freedom and Royce White, another former NBA player, said earlier this month that they identify as women and declared themselves eligible for the WNBA draft. Kanter Freedom hasn't played in the NBA since he was waived by the Boston Celtics in 2022. He grew up in Turkey and added Freedom to his name after becoming a U.S. citizen.

No transgender athletes currently compete in the WNBA, according to the Athletic, and no known transgender woman has played in the league. The league's collective bargaining agreement states that "only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA," though it doesn't further define woman.

Kanter Freedom and White will not be eligible for the WNBA draft, according to ESPN.

Lee, Owens criticize league

Lee and Owens have been critical of the WNBA since early this month. Owens has called the league "WOKE" and called for a boycott.

"As much as we love the sport, let's prove to this Marxist Woke league that we love our American culture more," he wrote on Aug. 17. "Their arrogant abuse will end only when WE STOP showing up. Power & Profit is the only thing these knuckleheads understand. Boycott ends profits."

Lee called for the firing of Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White on Aug. 1 after White was asked her stance on transgender women competing in the league. White questioned whether she's "educated enough from a scientific standpoint" to make that call, adding that she doesn't "believe exclusion is the answer."

Both lawmakers expressed support for Kanter Freedom after he was ejected from the game Sunday.

"As long as @WNBA refuses to define the word 'woman' — and declines to adopt policies excluding biological males — it has no valid basis for excluding the brave and stunning @EnesFreedom," Lee wrote.

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