Cheryl Reeve, the Minnesota Lynx head coach, sparked a fresh round of tension in women’s sports this week by telling critics that they “don’t want transgender people to exist.” The WNBA’s transgender debate has been simmering all season, and Reeve’s latest remarks have drawn a sharp response from Enes Kanter Freedom, who called on her to step down.
Reeve made her comments Thursday after the Lynx beat the Indiana Fever 86-66 at Target Center to close the regular season. Outside demonstrations over transgender participation in women’s sports accompanied the game. Reeve said the transgender community “deserves our support” and that critics are “not wanting transgender people to exist.”
Reeve’s T-Shirt Statement
Reeve said wearing a “Trans Kids Belong” shirt during an Aug. 2 nationally televised game against Indiana was one of the most meaningful moments of her season. She said the reaction to the shirt showed “people were affected by something as simple as wearing a T-shirt in support of them.”
She said she heard from parents of transgender children who said the gesture helped them and their families. Reeve called the issue “really about life and death” for transgender people.
This is at least the fourth time Reeve has addressed transgender issues during a WNBA media availability this season. She first spoke about it after Supreme Court rulings upheld state laws protecting women’s and girls’ sports.
The Cunningham Meeting
Reeve defended transgender participation before the Lynx’s first home game against the Fever, saying “every kid has a right to sports” but that eligibility gets more complicated after puberty. She spoke privately with Fever guard Sophie Cunningham before the Aug. 2 matchup.
Cunningham said she wants to protect girls from competing against or sharing locker rooms with biological males.
Freedom Responds
Freedom announced in August he intends to enter the 2027 WNBA Draft under the name “Enisa Freedom.” He said the move tests the league’s eligibility standards, which state only women may play in the WNBA without defining eligibility through biological sex.
Freedom wrote that protecting women’s sports “is not an attack on anyone’s existence, nor does it erase a community.”
White’s Satirical Response
Former NBA player Royce White responded to Reeve’s remarks with a satirical statement promoting his female alter ego, “Roysha.” White’s statement called the WNBA “the new transgender capital of America” and suggested a “bridge” between conservatives and transgender acceptance.
The League’s Stance
The WNBA has never had a transgender woman play on a roster. The league’s collective bargaining agreement states “only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA” but does not define eligibility through biological sex.
The league previously said there were no immediate transgender eligibility matters affecting the league and condemned “bad-faith efforts” to demean or marginalize others.
A Question of Fairness
The issue centers on whether biological males should be banned from women’s teams entirely, or whether transgender women deserve a place. Reeve frames the issue as one of life and death, and Freedom frames it as one of protection.
Neither position erases the other’s humanity, even when the language used makes that hard to see.
| Event | Date | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Lynx vs. Fever game | Thursday | Target Center |
| Aug. 2 game | Aug. 2 | Nationally televised |
| Freedom name change announcement | August | — |
The Debate Continues
The WNBA’s transgender debate shows no sign of cooling down. Reeve has not stepped down.
This is a question of fairness and identity, not of power or money.
Where the paper stands
The paper backs neither side of the transgender debate in women’s sports and instead backs a broader principle: that every person should be free to live without fear of being forced to step down for holding an unpopular opinion, while also backing the right of individuals to protest what they believe is wrong with their lives.
Reeve’s comments, delivered alongside continued protests outside Target Center, raise questions about how much pressure an athlete can withstand before stepping down. The paper believes athletes should be able to speak freely and wear shirts supporting transgender rights, even if that draws criticism. But the paper also believes those who disagree with her have the right to make their case publicly.
The WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement, which defines eligibility without reference to biological sex, leaves room for further conflict. The league has condemned bad-faith efforts to demean or marginalize others, but the question of whether biological males should compete against women remains unresolved.
Source material: “Enes Freedom rips Cheryl Reeve for saying women's sports advocates 'don’t want transgender people to exist',” Fox News.
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