Supporters of protecting women’s sports from biological male participation rallied outside American Airlines Center in Dallas on Thursday before the Dallas Wings’ game against the Indiana Fever. The demonstration supported Fever guard Sophie Cunningham, who has stood by her defense of sex-based competition.
Dallas Matters documented the gathering in a post on Thursday. Texas Values had announced a 4 p.m. rally and news conference beside the arena’s large jumbotron, three hours before the game’s scheduled 7 p.m. tipoff.
Texas Values organized the event with Moms for Liberty, Moms for America and the Independent Council on Women’s Sports, or ICONS. The groups promoted the rally as an effort to “save women’s sports” and support Cunningham’s position.
The message also reflected Texas policy. The state has enacted sex-based competition rules for athletics at public schools and public colleges. Both laws allow a female student to compete in a male-designated competition when no corresponding female competition is offered.
Cunningham defends her position
Cunningham drew national attention after addressing the issue in a July profile published by ESPN.
“I think that I am here to extend love. But I also think with that love is truth, being honest,” Cunningham said. “And I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.”
Cunningham later said she had answered a question rather than sought out the controversy. She nevertheless stood by the substance of her remarks and called protecting girls in sports “common sense.” The issue has followed the Fever on the road, with rallies supporting and opposing her position outside multiple WNBA arenas.
WNBA does not define biological eligibility
The WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement says “only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA,” but it does not define “women” or specifically address eligibility for athletes who identify as “transgender.” No biological male who identifies as a woman has played on a WNBA roster.
Commissioner Cathy Engelbert told teams that a task force of team presidents and general managers would discuss “transgender” athlete participation, as previously reported by The Dallas Express. The task force later met, but the league announced no eligibility change.
The Women’s National Basketball Players Association said it supports “justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion” while opposing hate and the demonization of “transgender” people. Its statement did not propose a specific eligibility standard.
Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve publicly rejected Cunningham’s position, as separate DX coverage detailed. Reeve argued that Cunningham’s remarks implied that “transgender women are predators of some kind in the locker room” and wore a “Trans Kids Belong” shirt during the Fever’s August 2 game in Minnesota.
The Dallas rally came less than two weeks after former Dallas Wings guard DiJonai Carrington wrote “WHITE PRIVILEGE @indianafever” after officials ejected her for a Flagrant 2 foul on Cunningham during an August 8 game, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Carrington later said she had never claimed officials assessed the foul because of white privilege but did not explain what her post referred to.
