Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a legal advocacy group, has sent a letter to the WNBA expressing concerns over the league's handling of fans supporting athlete Sophie Cunningham. The letter follows two separate incidents where fans with signs and apparel supporting Cunningham encountered pushback at games.
ADF legal counsel Suzanne Beecher stated that federal, state, and local free speech protections may apply, and noted the potential for First Amendment arguments if public funds are used at WNBA facilities. "There could even be First Amendment arguments," Beecher told Fox News Digital. She believes civil liberties were infringed upon in both instances, asserting that "fans should be able to go and be respected in voicing their viewpoints."
The first incident occurred on July 28, when two teenage girls attending a game between the Indiana Fever and the Seattle Storm held signs supporting Cunningham. Cunningham has previously spoken out against transgender athletes participating in women's sports. According to reports, a minority owner of the Seattle Storm approached the girls, leading to one of them being distressed. The WNBA later fined the owner and barred them from five home games, and the Storm issued an apology.
A similar situation arose on August 16 during a game in Atlanta between the Indiana Fever and the Atlanta Dream. Fans wearing shirts supporting Cunningham were asked by WNBA security to cover their attire or leave the arena. The family involved reported that a third fan wearing a shirt supporting transgender rights was also asked to cover their shirt. The WNBA acknowledged that its security personnel had improperly restricted the fans' clothing, stating, "This should not have happened." The Atlanta Dream clarified that their employees were not involved in the security's actions.
Beecher described the WNBA's statements as a necessary first step but emphasized that the repeated incidents indicate a need for more comprehensive action. "The WNBA needs to clarify their policy, educate their staff and partners that they need to respect the viewpoints of people regardless of what those beliefs are that they’re, that the fans are expressing," Beecher said.
ADF is calling on the WNBA to establish clearer policies and provide training for league employees and security personnel to ensure consistent enforcement. Beecher suggested that while reasonable restrictions on fan expression are permissible, they must be applied equally to all viewpoints. "It can’t be that one, one side of the argument is silenced while the other side is amplified," she stated.
Beyond fan conduct, ADF also wants the WNBA to clarify its player eligibility rules. The league's collective bargaining agreement specifies that "only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA," but the term is not explicitly defined by sex or gender identity. The WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert recently noted that a task force is discussing transgender participation.
ADF stated a preference for working with the WNBA to resolve these issues rather than pursuing litigation. "The preferred path would be to have this be a stepping off stone for the WNBA to make sure that going forward they’re really respecting the rights of all fans," Beecher added.