Anti-transgender protest before Valkyries’ game draws sparse crowd

SAN FRANCISCO – Four hours before the Minnesota Lynx defeated the Valkyries 77-66 at Chase Center on Wednesday night, their respective coaches voiced unequivocal support of transgender people. 

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With a protest against transgender athletes scheduled an hour before tipoff outside of the arena in San Francisco, Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase and Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve were asked about the ongoing topic.

The protest turned out to be small. About 10 people showed up to protest transgender athletes, while a counterprotest group called Rainbow Families also made an appearance in support of transgender people. 

The issue has heated up again as at least two former NBA players, Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White, have said they plan to declare for the WNBA draft.

The signed by the WNBA and its players’ union in March states that “only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA.” But the CBA does not define what a woman is, opening the door for Kanter Freedom and White to express interest in the draft.

At this point, there are no known transgender women playing in the WNBA. 

Reeve recently wore a shirt that read “Trans kids belong” during the Lynx’s Aug. 2 game against the Indiana Fever. Indiana guard Sophie Cunningham has made several statements in opposition of transgender athletes competing in women’s sports. 

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“I don’t want to give them any more oxygen than they deserve,” Reeve said before the game against the Valkyries on Wednesday. “I’ve said this before. Transgender kids belong, and I think you know as we’re seeing sort of politically in this country, they found a talking point that people are buying into, and the only thing I ask is that people educate themselves further on these issues and what we’re capable of doing when we work on something together, and that something is not used as you know simply rhetoric to marginalize a community because it’s not just a marginalization.”

Nakase also recently spoke in support of the inclusion of transgender people. When asked about the protest and Reeve’s comments on Wednesday, she shared a similar message. 

“I would say just my comment would be, you know, as I’ve spoken before, like there’s for me just in the world and just in sports right now, it’s just too much hate that’s going on, too much hate speech,” Nakase said. “I would highly suggest people continue to lead with love.

“I love to lead with love. I don’t think the word ‘love’ has been expressed enough. For me I want to continue to share that, and also just continue to support because I know when we, you know, love on each other, like we bring the best out of each other, and so that’s what I want to continue to stand on.”

Valkyries star Gabby Williams has also been a vocal supporter of transgender children, with an interview this past spring going viral on social media. 

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