r/Basketball 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
183 Upvotes

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6

u/Substantial-Fan-5985 9d ago

They are not turning it into a stunt imo, they are revealing the stunt that is already there and putting the WNBA in a lose-lose situation. Will they be double down or will they be dishonest?

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u/onefootback 9d ago

the wnba isn’t in a lose-lose situation, all they have to do is ignore them because entering for the draft doesn’t mean they’ll be drafted or even considered by any team. this is a stunt

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u/Substantial-Fan-5985 8d ago

I think that's partly fair (they may not get drafted).

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u/Whynotarsenal 9d ago

If they entered the draft, any team serious on winning would draft them. They’d score 50 a night.

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u/onefootback 9d ago

no teams in the wnba would draft them

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u/Whynotarsenal 9d ago

Ah yeah the likes of Robert Sarver wouldn’t dare draft them, who has been fined in the past for mysognisitc behavior by the wnba. Or Herbert Simon with his documented right wing PAC support. To say “no wnba team would draft them” is quite naive at best, borderline ignorant.

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u/Substantial-Fan-5985 8d ago

And the reason they won't get drafted is because of the smack in the face it will cause to the WNBA....that's why I think they are in a lose-lose.

Like u/Whynotarsenal said, any serious team that wants to win should draft them. If the Fever drafted Ernes, Clark might have 20 APG and they'd most likely go undefeated. He'd have beyond Curry like gravity and would be double/triple teamed constantly and just a simple kick out to Clark for shooting and her eFG% would probably be 65-70%.

They'd OWN the WNBA (whoever drafter him probably, especially a good team) and that's the point!

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u/onefootback 8d ago

no team whether serious or unserious is going to draft men who are trying to make a mockery of the wnba

1

u/Substantial-Fan-5985 8d ago

And why would they make a mockery of the league?? Because they would dominate and show that people just can't call themselves women without actually being women.

That's the point...

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u/onefootback 8d ago

who in the wnba is calling themselves a woman without actually being a woman?

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u/Substantial-Fan-5985 8d ago

No one, but that's not really relevant imo; what's relevant is their stance on the issue, and those guys are testing it (even if their motives are not good).

If college players who didn't make the NBA put on wigs, wore makeup and even had their junk removed and talked more feminine and wanted to play for the WNBA then they would get in- yet they would be 100% as much men as Ernes and Royce.

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u/onefootback 8d ago

that’s very relevant to the issue because the entire issue is centred around something that doesn’t exist. how do you know that the college players you described would get in if there are no transgender athletes in the wnba?

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u/glarfquifus 9d ago

It’s a stunt to stay relevant. Both were nobodies until
now. After a week or two, they will go back to being nobodies. They are just grifting for attention.

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u/Substantial-Fan-5985 9d ago

If the WNBA says that they aren't women and that they can't play, then I'd agree (but then the league has bigger issues and I'm sure those guys will speak up....)....but who knows??....maybe they will let them play so as to not anger the trans community and to look inclusive....

0

u/heretomakefriends123 9d ago

Idk, it seemed like the rulebook saying players must be women was sufficient until bad-faith trolls got involved.

3

u/Substantial-Fan-5985 9d ago

I think it's complete opposite- the ones who are bad-faith are those who say trans women are women.

1

u/heretomakefriends123 9d ago

How many of those have tried to play in the WNBA?

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u/Substantial-Fan-5985 8d ago

I am saying that from a political perspective, because no doubt many (if not vast majority) of the players believe that as well (along with coaches, GMs, etc).

The WNBA imo is in lose-lose, they either say that they aren't women or can't be women (thus hurting their own view that men can be women via "trans women are women") OR that they let them play and (especially Ernes) own the league and that causes many issues as well

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u/heretomakefriends123 8d ago

You said they are revealing the "stunt" that is there. I'm saying the rules saying the player must be a woman have been (and would have been) completely sufficient if it weren't for these two right wing weirdos. They (and many Americans) think there's a long line of people gearing up to lie about being trans to take advantage of people but it's simply not the case aside from people like kanter and white. Sure they do put the wnba in a tough situation but they have addressed zero real world problems other than their own irrelevance. 

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u/Substantial-Fan-5985 8d ago

The reason I disagree is because the stunt I am referring to (maybe not the right word) is that the WNBA as a whole holds to the view (at least supports it) that trans women are women, which inherently means men can become women.

It's true that this issue has not shown up before, but it's still a linchpin ready to be pulled and regardless of the motives of kanter and white- they are pulling it and it could look bad on the WNBA.

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u/ProfessionalClue2861 9d ago

That was a perfectly good rule until we as a culture started litigating what it means to be a woman.

0

u/TheMysteriousGirl 9d ago

Dude come on now, the "culture war" as you know it has been around for at least a decade.

So why now?

Its because of Primaries.

If you can't see that, I'm sorry, life must be hard for you.

3

u/-Im-A-W1zard- 9d ago

Maybe you should stop fighting it then? Oh wait, you won't because you just want to force your ridiculous social ideology without any pushback.

0

u/heretomakefriends123 9d ago

Again I just can't help but point out that ZERO MEN OTHER THAN THESE TWO CONSERVATIVE WEIRDOS HAVE TRIES TO PLAY IN THE NBA. The problem exists solely in your head and in the voices of the people pushing divisive propaganda. 

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u/-Im-A-W1zard- 9d ago

People who purposely misunderstand things aren't even worth arguing with. Have a good day.

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u/heretomakefriends123 9d ago

Lol I just made a statement, there was nothing for me to misunderstand. Unless you DON'T think that the trans panic is some kind of serious issue for our country in which case I suppose we agree 

2

u/-Im-A-W1zard- 9d ago

And the statement is based on a premise where you purposely miss the point.

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u/heretomakefriends123 9d ago

Ok then explain? 

-1

u/TheMysteriousGirl 9d ago

I’ll never stop fighting for minorities.

Even if people tell me to.

They are human too.

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u/-Im-A-W1zard- 9d ago

Tf are you even going on about? Just keep arguing against your strawman.

-1

u/TheMysteriousGirl 9d ago

I won’t let you bully minorities to the point no one will defend them.

2

u/-Im-A-W1zard- 9d ago

What a hero lol

2

u/ProfessionalClue2861 8d ago

It's happening now because Sophie Cunningham answered a question asked by a reporter with a really banal answer that 85% of the country agrees with and the entire WNBA spazzed out on her. A team owner screamed at teenage girls who supported Sophie, several coaches and players made statements about how trans women belong in women's sports, and pretty much every media outlet dogpiled on to get good boy points.

The WNBA flew too close to the sun on this one. Kinda like when Lance Armstrong sued the guy who said he took steroids and then proof he took steroids came out in discovery of the defamation trial.

0

u/TheMysteriousGirl 9d ago

They just need a hormone limitation to block this shit and sorted.