{"id":2644392,"date":"2026-08-13T12:53:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T16:53:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignwomens-national-basketball-association-cant-decide-what-a-woman-is\/"},"modified":"2026-08-13T12:54:45","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T16:54:45","slug":"utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignwomens-national-basketball-association-cant-decide-what-a-woman-is","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignwomens-national-basketball-association-cant-decide-what-a-woman-is\/","title":{"rendered":"WNBA Can&#8217;t Decide What A Woman Is"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Futm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignwomens-national-basketball-association-cant-decide-what-a-woman-is%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2644392&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses the ongoing controversy within the Women\u2019s National Basketball Association (WNBA) regarding the definition of what constitutes a woman, especially in the context of transgender athletes competing in women\u2019s sports. The WNBA held a meeting of its general managers and team presidents to address eligibility rules for transgender players but was unable to establish clear guidelines. Rather, the league issued a statement condemning efforts to oppose trans-identifying men participating in women&#8217;s sports, highlighting a lack of a formal definition of \u201cwoman\u201d in their collective bargaining agreement. The debate intensified following a vocal stance by player Sophie Cunningham, who expressed concerns about protecting female athletes from competing alongside or against transgender women, which drew criticism from some within the league. The article also notes incidents of violence and bias against players advocating for traditional women\u2019s sports standards,as well as public declarations by former NBA players Enes kanter Freedom and Royce White,who plan to participate in the 2027 WNBA draft while identifying as women. the piece highlights the deep divisions and unresolved questions surrounding gender identity and fairness in women\u2019s sports.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=EvSsJsnfjRs\">WNBA\/YouTube<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/08\/13\/womens-national-basketball-association-cant-decide-what-a-woman-is\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Women\u2019s National Basketball Association Can\u2019t Decide What A Woman Is&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/08\/13\/womens-national-basketball-association-cant-decide-what-a-woman-is\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Women\u2019s National Basketball Association Can\u2019t Decide What A Woman Is&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/08\/13\/womens-national-basketball-association-cant-decide-what-a-woman-is\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/08\/13\/womens-national-basketball-association-cant-decide-what-a-woman-is\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Women\u2019s National Basketball Association Can\u2019t Decide What A Woman Is&#038;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/08\/13\/womens-national-basketball-association-cant-decide-what-a-woman-is\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\">                     <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); pfTrackEvent(&#039;Women\u2019s National Basketball Association Can\u2019t Decide What A Woman Is&#039;); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &#038; Email\">                     <span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span>                     <\/a>                 <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<div class=\"pf-content\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Women\u2019s National Basketball Association (WNBA) is arguably facing the biggest crisis in its history. That is, its leadership can\u2019t decide what a woman is. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The extremely difficult question was top of mind for the \u201ctask force\u201d of WNBA general managers and team presidents who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/wnba\/story\/_\/id\/49594734\/wnba-task-force-discusses-transgender-athletes-amid-furor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">met<\/a> Wednesday to discuss eligibility rules for dudes who think they\u2019re chicks playing in the league. But after much hard-thought consideration, they just couldn\u2019t bring themselves to settle on guidelines ensuring the women\u2019s league is exclusive to, well, women.  <\/p>\n<div id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-2004119798\" class=\"d-flex justify-content-center fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 fdrlst__b89e9-entity-placement\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What the meeting\u2019s participants <em>did<\/em> agree on was releasing a statement seemingly attacking those who oppose trans-identifying men being permitted to dominate women\u2019s sports. The league denounced what it called \u201cbad-faith efforts to use these topics to demean or marginalize others.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As noted by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/outkick-sports\/former-nba-player-royce-white-declaring-next-wnba-draft-enes-kanter-announcement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Fox News<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/wnba\/story\/_\/id\/49594734\/wnba-task-force-discusses-transgender-athletes-amid-furor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ESPN<\/a>, the governing language from the league\u2019s 2026 collective bargaining agreement does not define what a \u201cwoman\u201d is. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The subject has become a heated focal point in recent weeks. That\u2019s especially true after Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham took a bold stand for young female athletes and their ability to compete without fear of injury or discomfort as the result of playing alongside or against trans-identifying men. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I\u2019m like, \u2018I never once said that,\u2019\u201d Cunningham recently told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/wnba\/story\/_\/id\/49306657\/sophie-cunningham-finger-point-indiana-fever-wnba\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ESP<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/wnba\/story\/_\/id\/49306657\/sophie-cunningham-finger-point-indiana-fever-wnba\">N<\/a>. \u201cI think that I am here to extend love. But I also think with that love is truth, being honest. And I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn\u2019t have to go against biological men.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rather than step up to protect the sanctity of their sport alongside Cunningham, many within the leftist WNBA <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/08\/04\/woke-wnba-attacks-sophie-cunningham-and-her-fans-for-supporting-womens-rights-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">attacked<\/a> her. Others, like fellow Fever guard and breakout star Caitlin Clark, opted to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/outkick-sports\/womens-advocacy-groups-respond-caitlin-clarks-answer-demonstrations-fever-games\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">avoid<\/a> the issue altogether. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both Cunningham and Clark have endured several egregious fouls from fellow players over the same period. The former was recently <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/08\/10\/the-nba-is-enabling-the-wnbas-anti-white-violence\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">dragged to the ground<\/a> by her neck by Chicago Sky guard DiJonai Carrington, who dutifully chalked up the incident to \u201cwhite privilege\u201d on social media after being ejected. Carrington has since tried to <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/DijonaiVictoria\/status\/2086912218457862229?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">argue<\/a> that she \u201cnever once claimed that the assessment of the foul was white privilege.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>[READ:[READ:<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/08\/05\/lebronya-james-to-dominate-womens-league-where-women-wont-accept-what-a-woman-is\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">LeBronya James To Dominate Women\u2019s League Where Women Won\u2019t Accept What A Woman Is<\/a>]<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wednesday\u2019s meeting follows former NBA players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/outkick-sports\/former-nba-player-royce-white-declaring-next-wnba-draft-enes-kanter-announcement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">declaring<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/articles\/meet-every-single-requirement-ex-181528682.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">for<\/a> the 2027 WNBA draft. Both men are seemingly \u201cidentifying\u201d as women for the purposes of playing in the league. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics and RealClearHealth. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Shawn Fleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShawnFleetwood\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@ShawnFleetwood<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/shawnfleetwood\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags no-print bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/basketball\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Basketball<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/left-wing-activism\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">left-wing activism<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/sophie-cunningham\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Sophie Cunningham<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/sports-2\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">sports<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/trans-athletes\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">trans athletes<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/transgender\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">transgender<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/transgenderism\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">transgenderism<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/wnba\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">WNBA<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/womens-sports\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">women&#8217;s sports<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WNBA Faces Crisis Over Defining Woman in Sports<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2644393,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/WNBA.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[32547,33417,67442,7188,35638],"class_list":["post-2644392","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-gender-equality","tag-gender-identity","tag-sports-debate","tag-wnba","tag-womens-sports"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/WNBA.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2644392","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2644392"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2644392\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2644396,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2644392\/revisions\/2644396"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2644393"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2644392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2644392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2644392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}