Sophie Cunningham kickstarted a nationwide debate on transgender eligibility in the WNBA when, a month ago, she said she did not want trans women to enter the league.
Michael Porter Jr. has now taken a firm stance on the discourse, speaking out on his “Curious Mike” podcast this week with nine-year WNBA veteran Lexie Brown.
Michael Porter Jr. Doesn’t Think It Would ‘Be Fair’ for Trans Women To Enter the WNBA
The genetic predisposition of individuals assigned male at birth has led figureheads such as Porter to side with Cunningham.
On his podcast, the Brooklyn Nets star said, “I just think it could be a thing in the future, and I feel like [there’s] not a clear-cut [rule] if it should be allowed or not allowed,” while discussing the possibility of transgender women competing in the WNBA.
The WNBA has stated in its collective bargaining agreement that “only players who are women” are eligible. However, the CBA has not explicitly defined what a “woman” is, so the semantics on trans eligibility are still up in the air.
To date, there has not been a single trans woman who has played in the WNBA.
“That’s one of those things where I feel like in the world today, it’s too up in the air. People can do this, do that. I feel like when it comes to sports, to keep the integrity of the game, you gotta have some rules. … Because from my perspective, I would be like, ‘That wouldn’t be fair,'” Porter continued.
Porter has, in the past, made headlines for speaking quite brazenly about what he believes is a chasmic skill gap between male and female basketball players. Late last year, he recounted “going dumb” against WNBA-bound college basketball players as a teen.
Later in his podcast, Porter asked Brown how she felt about expansive inclusivity in the WNBA. She remained coy about how firm her stance is, saying, “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”
She did, however, elaborate on her problem with the discourse: “I feel like people use these examples in sports to weaponize and talk about their beliefs and opinions, which can come off as very transphobic. I don’t support that.”
As of today, there are no clear rules or regulations in the WNBA that state whether members of the trans community can play in the league.
Porter, like many other WNBA fans across the country, is waiting on Commissioner Engelbert and league officials to release a conclusive statement on this topic to perhaps douse the fire a bit heading into the playoffs.
