Sunday’s game between the Indiana Fever and Atlanta Dream was an overtime thriller that resulted in a 95-91 overtime win for the Fever, evening the season series at 2-2. Both Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese starred in the game, leaving fans hopeful that the superstars can face off next in a playoff series.
Unfortunately, the game was partially overshadowed on Monday by reports that two fans were forced to cover shirts displaying “XX” and “XY”, a reference to a movement to keep transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports, a debate that has engulfed coverage of the Fever since guard Sophie Cunningham’s comments in a July ESPN profile.
Conservative sports pundit Clay Travis was one of many who took exception to the occurrence.
“Wow. So (the WNBA) doesn’t know what a woman is, but shirts that reference women’s XX chromosomes are banned at games?! This entire league is a disgrace,” he posted on X.
The league is responding
Just a day later, the league is addressing the situation, according to USA Today’s Meghan L Hall.
“The WNBA is aware of interactions at last night’s game in Atlanta in which fans were asked by league security to cover their shirts. This should not have happened,” a spokesperson said via statement.
Reports have emerged of fans allegedly being asked to cover XX-XY Athletics shirts at last night’s Fever vs. Dream game.
A WNBA spokesperson shared with USA TODAY the below statement.
Story to come. pic.twitter.com/hNRAjKQoGy
— Meghan L. Hall (@ItsMeghanLHall) August 17, 2026
Not the first statement
The league established a task force aimed at proactively addressing many of the concerns around the league, including the eligibility status of transgender athletes. The task force didn’t reach a final conclusion on the matter, but made it clear the league has no place for anyone who spews hate or aims to be exclusionary.
“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,” the task force said in a statement.
“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.”
While the league attempts to straddle the fence and keep people on both sides of the issue happy, it’ll eventually have to arrive at a decision on transgender athletes and their place in the league.
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