Engelbert Slams 'Haters' Amid WNBA Transgender Debate
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- Cathy Engelbert called critics "haters" who have never watched the WNBA and are using the league as "political football" — her first public remarks since the WNBA issued a statement last week criticizing bad-faith efforts to make transgender athlete eligibility an issue.
- Engelbert made the comments Thursday before the Indiana Fever's 91-85 loss to the Dallas Wings at American Airlines Center in Dallas, where demonstrators gathered outside the arena.
- The WNBA's collective bargaining agreement states "only players who are women are eligible" but contains no specific language on gender identity or sex assigned at birth.
- Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White, two former NBA players, declared themselves eligible for the WNBA draft this month, saying they identify as women.
- Engelbert sent a memo to team presidents and general managers this month saying the league would discuss transgender women in women's basketball.
- Sophie Cunningham sparked renewed attention with an ESPN profile in which the Fever player voiced support for barring transgender girls and women from girls' and women's sports.
Why it matters: The WNBA's CBA contains no specific language on gender identity or sex assigned at birth — leaving an eligibility gap that two former NBA players have already exploited by declaring for the draft. With any policy change requiring collective bargaining with the league's players, Engelbert has no quick mechanism to resolve the dispute or prevent further declarations.
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