After Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham ignited nationwide conversation about whether or not transgender women should play in women’s sports, perhaps the most prominent transgender woman on the planet has broken her silence on the issue.
During a recent interview with Fox News, former Olympic gold medalist turned reality star Caitlyn Jenner has offered her take on the debate, expressing a desire to “protect women’s sports” as former NBA players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White make a mockery of the league by trying to declare themselves eligible for the WNBA due to the league’s gender policy.
WNBA Sets Up Task Force
Weeks after Cunningham ignited widespread conversation about whether or not transgender women should be eligible to play in the WNBA, the league issued a statement last week indicating that the conversation about the issue would continue, but no decision had been made about its eligibility rules.
“Today’s meeting covered a wide range of topics, including ongoing discussions on transgender athletes and the continued hate and vitriol directed at players online. We will continue to engage all league stakeholders in the coming weeks and months. We will approach these important conversations thoughtfully and in alignment with the values of our league. There are no immediate eligibility matters affecting the WNBA and we strongly denounce the bad-faith efforts to use these topics to demean or marginalize others,” the league said in a statement via ESPN.
This statement came after Kanter Freedom and White declared themselves eligible for the WNBA.
Jenner Takes a Stand
Jenner, who publicly came out as a transgender woman during a televised interview with Diane Sawyer on April 24, 2015, is perhaps the most famous transgender woman on the planet. Before her transition, then-named Bruce Jenner won the gold medal in the men’s decathlon at the Olympic Games in Montreal in 1976, setting a world record score of 8,618 points. Jenner went on to marry Kris Jenner and starred in the hit reality show Keeping Up With the Kardashians.
Over the years, Jenner has been quite outspoken on her conservative political stances, and her opinion on the trans sports debate aligns with those previously expressed beliefs.
This week, Jenner appeared on “Fox News @ Night” with Trace Gallagher and said there was a “simple” conclusion to the ordeal.
“They’re showing the hypocrisy of what’s going on out there in the WNBA,” Jenner said of Kanter and White. “The WNBA had their meetings on this issue and Cathy (Engelbert), the head, says, ‘We talked about the trans issue but we just haven’t come up with a conclusion at this point. We will continue the conversation.’ Cathy, XX, you’re in. XY you’re out. It’s that simple.
“And both these guys I think are doing a good job just to show the WNBA the hypocrisy that’s going on here,” Jenner continued, referring to White and Kanter Freedom. “We have to protect women’s sports … I want to protect women’s sports. Title IX was one of the greatest legislations for women’s equality – that happened to be in sports.”
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