The debate over transgender athletes and their eligibility in the WNBA has become one of the biggest talking points around the league.
Almost every day, analysts are sharing their opinions on where the league should stand. Now, a US senator has added another twist to the discussion.
US Senator’s Revelation Regarding the WNBA
On the latest episode of “Verdict with Ted Cruz,” the senator from Texas accused the league of dodging a $10 million offer put forward by OutKick founder Clay Travis.
In short, Travis had proposed a one-off game between the Las Vegas Aces, the reigning WNBA champions, and a boys’ high school team that had just won its state title. Win the game, and the Aces walk away $10 million richer.
“It started two weeks ago with our friend Clay Travis. He challenged the Las Vegas Aces, which is the reigning national champion WNBA team, to play a team of high school boys of his choosing. Clay said, ‘I will give $10 million of my own money to the winners.’ He made that challenge two weeks ago.”
Senator Cruz further noted how the WNBA failed to respond to the challenge, claiming that they knew the Aces would lose.
“Clay followed up and said, ‘Important. Not only have the WNBA and the Las Vegas Aces refused to respond to my $10 million boys high school challenge. No rich left-wingers have stepped up to take the $10 million challenge either.’ Why? They’re all liars and cowards. They know the high school boys would smoke the WNBA champions,” Senator Cruz said during the show.
The goal was simple. Travis wanted to put the purported physical gap between male and female athletes on full display, arguing that a game like this would settle the debate in a way no social media post or press conference ever could.
This whole saga traces back to comments made by Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham, who spoke out against allowing transgender athletes to compete in the WNBA, saying she wanted to “protect young girls in locker rooms.”
Senator Cruz has been involved in the trans-athlete debate for several days now. He even took the conversation to X after former NBA player Enes Kanter announced his intention to enter the 2027 WNBA Draft. He predicted that Kanter would break Wilt Chamberlain’s record in the WNBA.
“He’s going to break Wilt’s record of 100 points in a single game,” Senator Cruz predicted on X.
Now, much of the attention is turning toward WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. The league is expected to have team presidents and general managers discuss its gender-eligibility policy at a meeting this week. Meanwhile, the debate is likely to continue until the league issues its response.
