WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert denounces people she says are using the league to “sow divisiveness” amid a debate over transgender athletes. Multiple outlets report she makes the remarks as the Indiana Fever play the Dallas Wings at the Dallas Mavericks’ home on Thursday.
Context centers on recent public comments by Fever guard Sophie Cunningham, who expressed support for barring transgender girls and women from girls’ and women’s sports in an ESPN profile. Several outlets say demonstrators appear outside American Airlines Center at the game, as they have at other WNBA venues.
Outlets largely align on Engelbert’s characterization of the dispute, describing her references to “haters” or outsiders who have not watched the WNBA and who treat it as a political issue. Fox News frames the criticism as Engelbert blaming the “wrong people,” while other coverage uses variations such as “haters” and “political football,” but all attribute the core message to Engelbert and link it to the Cunningham-driven public debate and the Dallas game-day protests.
