“She Rises Above the Haters,” that was the message political activist Riley Gaines shared on X a few days ago while showing her support to Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham. However, the transgender controversy continues to gain new chapters especially after Enes Kanter launched his movement to declare for the WNBA draft in 2027.
Now, Gaines has claimed that part of the problem lies in the way the WNBA has approached the situation. She pointed to to what she sees as inconsistencies in how the league has handled messages connected to the ongoing debate over transgender athletes.
Riley Gaines’s Recent Message Regarding the WNBA
Gaines recently took to X to call out what she described as a series of questionable decisions by the WNBA amid the ongoing controversy surrounding Cunningham and XX-XY Athletics.
“So far @WNBA representatives have: cursed out teenage girls for wearing these shirts in Seattle, made a mom and daughter cover these shirts in Atlanta, altered a paid scoreboard message to support the brand in NY, Seems like a great reason to buy and wear @xx_xyathletics,” Gaines wrote on X.
So far @WNBA representatives have:
– cursed out teenage girls for wearing these shirts in Seattle
– made a mom and daughter cover these shirts in Atlanta
– altered a paid scoreboard message to support the brand in NYSeems like a great reason to buy and wear @xx_xyathletics 🤷🏼♀️ https://t.co/AW2vF6ws5W
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) August 22, 2026
If you haven’t been following the controversy, here’s a quick catch-up. The first incident dates back to late July, when the WNBA came down on Seattle Storm co-owner Celeste Keaton. The league suspended her from five home games and hit her with a fine after she reportedly went off on a few teenage girls at a Fever-Storm matchup.
The girls were there rooting for Cunningham, wearing XX-XY gear and holding signs thanking her for standing up for girls. According to the girls, Keaton cursed them out and told them they were “[explicit] insane” for their views. The Storm apologized after the story broke, and the league followed up with a suspension and a fine.
The second incident happened on August 16, when the Indiana Fever played the Atlanta Dream at State Farm Arena. A mother and her teenage daughter, both dressed in XX-XY Athletics gear, had shelled out close to $1,000 apiece for seats just a few rows from the floor.
They wanted to be there for Cunningham and to show support for her stance on keeping women’s sports female. For most of the game, nobody said a word to them. Then, over time, a security guard walked over and asked them to step aside. He told them that another nearby fan had complained that their shirts were offensive.
Their options were simple. Either put on the free Atlanta Dream “Wellness & Health Night” shirts being handed out, or leave the building. Since they’d already spent so much just to be there, they swapped shirts and stayed to watch the finish.
The third incident was reported by CNN, which found that it wasn’t just those two. At least three fans total were told to cover shirts referencing the trans-athlete debate that night, including someone wearing a pro-trans message.
Then, on the morning of August 22, Outkick posted a video interview on X with a Cunningham supporter who said she had paid to have a message flashed on the scoreboard during the Fever’s upcoming game against the New York Liberty.
She’d picked her wording carefully, staying away from anything that directly referenced Cunningham, hoping to avoid pushback. The Liberty reportedly accepted the payment and the message at first. However, a day before the game, the fan claimed that she got a call saying the wording had been changed without her say in the matter.
“I wanted to put up a message to Jennifer Sey and thank her for everything that she’s doing. And it got approved. I paid for it. That was five days ago. And then 24 hours before the game, I get an email that said they’re going to alter my message and gave me no reason or recourse,” the fan said during the interview.
Whether the WNBA responds with real changes or just more statements saying “this should not have happened” remains to be seen.
