Every WNBA Player Who Has Spoken in Support of Trans People

Don’t let the Sophie Cunninghams of the world fool you: the WNBA is filled with players who have openly supported transgender inclusion in sports for years. It should be no surprise that a league that has historically been early on for LGBTQ+ inclusion— and is currently 25% queer, according to our best estimates, and counting, including 45% of its All-Stars identify as LGBTQ+ — would include many players who have openly spoken out in defense of trans people. The W has long been a site of queer political organizing through visibility, lest history forget the Lesbians for Liberty kiss-in of 2002. In 2014, the WNBA became the first professional sports league to formally recognize Pride. It’s also important to note that despite conservative chatter, trans and nonbinary players are not new to the league. Though a trans woman has never played for the WNBA, as Layshia Clarendon became league’s first out transmasculine player in 2020. Despite the WNBA’s longstanding queer legacy, over the last several weeks, the league has come under fire from transphobes who claim to care about women’s sports following Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham’s statements opposing trans inclusion in a July ESPN profile. As the WNBA’s trans-inclusive policies continue to be the latest target of the right’s bad-faith attempts to strip trans people of our rights, let’s take some time away from all the noise and publicity stunts to highlight the players and coaches who have put their careers on the line and stuck their necks out for trans people. Note: This list is ever-growing and includes retired players, current players, and WNBA coaches who have firmly advocated for trans rights and visibility in sports. If we’ve missed you or your favorite player, let us know!Gabby Williams Gabby Williams, the widely beloved Golden State Valkyries forward, spoke out in support of trans people in athletics during a post-practice interview on May 19. “I think it’s trans, trans right