The WNBA has been marred with discourse over whether trans athletes should be allowed to enter the league. The ambiguity in the eligibility criteria in the current Collective Bargaining Agreement has created an opportunity for figures such as Enes Kanter and Royce White to try to enter the league by identifying as trans women.
Journalist and politician Michele Tafoya spoke about the trans-eligibility dilemma on Fox News. She broke down the steps that Commissioner Cathy Engelbert and league officials need to take to determine who is eligible to play.
Michele Tafoya Provides Solution to WNBA’s Trans-Athlete Debate
There has been no official word from the WNBA on how they want to tackle the eligibility dilemma the league is currently facing. Tafoya seemingly has a solution. She said, “It’s an easy way. It’s not invasive at all. It’s no worse than what we all did during COVID when we had to take COVID tests twice a week just to cover the NFL.”
“If you want to play and make money and have opportunities as a person in the WNBA as a woman, it should not bother you to take a cheek swab test to just prove that you’ve got the chromosomes to play in that league.”
Tafoya: If you want to play as a person in the WNBA as a woman it should not bother you to take a cheek swab test to prove you have the chromosomes to play. pic.twitter.com/0sHvSbgpMs
— Acyn (@Acyn) August 31, 2026
The WNBA wouldn’t be the first to adopt this strategy if Engelbert were to go ahead with it. The International Olympic Committee made it mandatory for athletes to undergo one-time genetic testing (via a cheek swab or a blood sample).
The Women’s Tennis Association put forth a similar mandate as well, so as to restrict individuals who were assigned male at birth from participating in women’s events.
Tafoya is calling out the WNBA at the same time that Enes Kanter is. He authored a lengthy tweet on Monday directed at Engelbert and the WNBA task force, saying he wants a “peace summit” moderated by Caitlyn Jenner.
“The whole world is laughing at you. You have turned the WNBA into a laughing stock. It’s time to stop hiding behind closed-door meetings, excuses, and delays and finally give the public a clear answer.”
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert and the @WNBA task force,
I am now speaking directly to you.
I’m going to keep this short and sweet, so open your ears and listen carefully.
I would like to offer you a peace summit, moderated by my friend @Caitlyn_Jenner. I’ve already spoken… pic.twitter.com/fuQxVnqmJI
— Enes Kanter FREEDOM (@EnesFreedom) August 31, 2026
League officials have yet to respond to Kanter. It’s unlikely they will publicly have any direct contact with him, given that he’s banned from entering Chicago Sky games after the altercation with Natasha Cloud on the sidelines.
As for the league’s final decision on who is eligible to enter the WNBA, it’s quite unclear at the moment.
They released a statement earlier this month saying they “strongly denounce the bad-faith efforts to use these topics to demean or marginalize others.”
However, protests are continuing both outside and inside arenas, with fans demanding more answers from the league on this issue.
