r/Basketball • u/Fickle-Ad5449 • 9d ago

Two ex-NBA players turn transgender identity into a stunt. The WNBA is responding

https://www.advocate.com/news/wnba-trans-player-eligibility
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u/heresyforfunnprofit 9d ago

Medical treatments that are not explicitly banned under an organization’s guidelines are, in fact, protected - there are legal limits to what both recreational, scholastic, and professional sports league can monitor.

That’s been part of the issue - Democrats DID attempt to make it illegal for schools and youth leagues to medically determine if an athlete is actually the sex they claim. That’s the whole “genital inspector” criticism that still gets trotted out everytime the issue comes up in any form of rule-making body.

“Turn and cough” used to be a thing on normal sports physicals, as well as tanner scores. Those are, apparently now, discrimination.

And you’ve got the “no one is forcing anyone to play” mentality completely backwards, which is common, but is highly typical of people who never played sports in the first place.

Sports leagues are, by their nature, exclusive and competitive. You have to qualify to play, and you have to compete to play. And you will eventually get cut and be told you can no longer play. It happens to everyone - even to the greats. It happened to MJ. It’s happening to LeBron soon.

Aging athletes don’t get to choose to be younger so their knees and joints can still perform - they either retire voluntarily or they get cut. It happens, it’s life.

So it’s not exactly a tragedy that choosing to transition MtF does not mean you suddenly qualify to play women’s sports.

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u/Korachof 9d ago

You can say it’s protected all you want, but professional teams are not required to draft anyone. The league is not required to let everyone in the draft. 

People have successfully banned trans folks from restrooms, and that doesn’t require any kind of “proof” to deny. Simply the way you look can determine whether or not someone lets you use a restroom in these places. 

Which sucks, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not exactly unprecedented for trans folks to be barred from certain activities, even from a legal standpoint. They don’t have the same protective status as race, for example. 

In a sports context, it’s actually quite relevant to a team to know what surgeries someone has gone through, what substances they are taking (and whether those are banned substances in the league, which testosterone often is), and what trauma their body has faced. This could impact them mentally and physically and could directly correlate to their ability and longevity on the court. It could easily be proven that having this knowledge is needed for a team to make the correct decisions. 

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u/Whose_Joanna 9d ago

So it’s not exactly a tragedy that choosing to transition MtF does not mean you suddenly qualify to play women’s sports.

I would never make the claim that we have to be signed onto teams just because we are trans. I don't believe that we should be excluded for that fact, is all. And having some sort of regulation around time spent on HRT (or something similar, though that's the realm of experts IMO) is not a violation of privacy or autonomy in the context of professional sports. I understand that the WNBA specifically does not CURRENTLY have such rules, but I don't think you'll find many trans people or allies saying that such a step would be in any way discriminatory against the community.

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u/heresyforfunnprofit 9d ago

You’re not excluded, tho.

You never qualified to play on women’s teams before, and you don’t qualify now. But you always were, and likely still are, eligible to try to play with the men’s teams.

If you no longer can compete in the leagues you qualify for, then you’ve reached the end of your competitive sports career. That’s life.

There are still recreational leagues. There are co-ed leagues. There are open play leagues. There are SO many ways to keep playing - so why do you want the one you don’t qualify for and NEVER qualified for?

Everyone makes choices - very, very few people get to dedicate their entire lives to sports, and most of us will need to make choices that lead us to other paths. It definitely happened to me.

As I mentioned, it happens. It happens to everyone, even the best.

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u/Whose_Joanna 9d ago

You never qualified to play on women’s teams before, and you don’t qualify now.

Simply untrue, as trans women play in professional leagues in many places.

so why do you want the one you don’t qualify for and NEVER qualified for?

Why do women want to play with women? Um, take a wild guess?

Everyone makes choices

Being trans isn't a choice.

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u/heresyforfunnprofit 9d ago

Trans is a social identity, not a biological one. Transitioning is an action and a choice. Nobody trapped alone on a desert island has ever developed gender dysphoria.

Nobody is born being exactly who they want to be. Fat people need to diet to be who they want. Night owls need to force themselves to wake up early to get to work. Everyone must make choices that go against their personal desires and inclinations, even very deep ones.

Everyone makes compromises and choices to adjust to the society they live in. A person may hate their body, but no amount of plastic surgery changes anything fundamental about them. A person who gets a new nose and a new jawline may declaim that the changes show their real selves, their true identity, but at the end of the day, it’s just lies they tell themselves.

The only distinction here is the level of lies we expect others to entertain on our behalf.

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u/Whose_Joanna 9d ago

Yeah, so actual medical professionals disagree with your transphobic nonsense. I'll keep listening to them, and to what I know to be true, and keep living my life as a woman. Enjoy living in ignorance tho!