Do you ever notice … how the WNBA has a courage problem?
And it’s not Sophie Cunningham.
The WNBA doesn’t need another statement. It needs a definition.
The league says outside forces are trying to hijack women’s basketball.
They wont name who or what that is.
But there is a remarkably simple way to stop them.
Clearly define who is eligible to play in the Womens National Basketball Association.
THE WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION CAN’T DEFINE A ‘WOMAN,’ AND IT’S BEYOND SHAMEFUL
Funny how quickly a hypothetical becomes real when somebody finally has to write the rule.
Last week, I wrote that the WNBA had backed itself into a corner.
Turns out somebody at league headquarters finally noticed the walls.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has now told teams that the league is discussing transgender-player eligibility and expects those conversations to continue.
Good.
It’s about time.
Because the WNBA doesn’t need another statement.
It needs a definition.
The league’s collective bargaining agreement says:
“Only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA.”
Seems pretty straightforward.
Except it doesn’t define what a woman is.
That might have been an amusing legal omission when the question was theoretical.
It isn’t anymore.
THE CRAIG CARTON SHOWâUNFILTERED, UNAPOLOGETIC AND UNMISSABLE. DOWNLOAD HIS DAILY PODCAST NOW!
Former NBA players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White say they want to enter the WNBA Draft.
They’re making a point.
French transgender basketball player Julie Tétart, who is biologically male, is already playing professional women’s basketball overseas.
Suddenly the question isn’t something being shouted across cable-news panels.
It’s an eligibility question.
For a professional sports league.
The WNBA has a courage problem and its not Sophie Cunningham
And the answer can’t be: We’ll get back to you.
So whats the standard?
Biological sex?
Gender identity?
Hormone levels?
Medical transition?
Pick one.
Write it down.
Apply it equally.
Because you can’t have a professional women’s league whose rule says only women may play
while refusing to define who qualifies.
That’s not a rule.
That’s a future lawsuit with a basketball.
And while league officials figure this out, we’re getting a pretty good demonstration of why this
subject has become so difficult for the WNBA to address honestly.
Just look at what’s happening in Indiana.
DiJonai Carrington came up behind Sophie Cunningham on a fast break and clobbered her in the
head, sending her crashing to the floor and bloodying her mouth.
Carrington was assessed a Flagrant 2 and ejected.
Right call.
It wasnt even close to a basketball move.
Afterward, Fever coach Stephanie White defended Carrington’s competitiveness and said she
didn’t believe Carrington was trying to hurt Cunningham.
As White spoke, Makayla Timpson looked down.
<a href="https://foxnews.com/category/person/caitlin-clark" target="_blan
