WNBA’s 2021 Pride Post Praised Trans Track Winners, Ignoring Female Competitors

A 2021 WNBA social-media post celebrating “Woman Crush Wednesday” during Pride Month highlighted trans athletes Andraya Yearwood and Terry Miller, who had claimed girls’ high-school track titles in Connecticut, pushing competitors like Selina Soule, Chelsea Mitchell, Alanna Smith and Ashley Nicoletti out of championship positions. The league’s message, posted on X and Facebook, expressed solidarity with trans athletes and referenced Athlete Ally, which had previously honored the pair and listed the NBA and WNBA as supporters.

The girls they beat later filed a lawsuit through Alliance Defending Freedom, describing lost titles, advancement chances and emotional harm. Five years later, the WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement still lacks a definition of “woman,” and the league has convened a task force to deliberate eligibility amid claims from former NBA players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White to enter the 2027 draft. The task force reportedly spent much of its recent meeting addressing online hate directed at players rather than the eligibility question. Critics note the league’s earlier celebration of the male athletes contrasted with its silence on the female athletes’ grievances.