Curley calls WNBA’s inclusivity rhetoric ‘garbage’ after ex-NBA stars test eligibility rules

The WNBA is facing a growing challenge to its stance on transgender athletes after former NBA center Enes Kanter Freedom declared for the 2027 WNBA Draft and former NBA forward Royce White followed hours later, both arguing the league’s eligibility rules allow them to compete.

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert sent a memo to the players’ association on Friday addressing the controversy and announced a task force of team presidents and general managers will discuss the issue next week.

KIRO host John Curley said on “The John Curley Show” on KIRO Newsradio that the league’s problems are self-inflicted, rooted in years of broad inclusivity language that left no room for the biological distinction the sport needs.

“WNBA describes itself as inclusive, which is garbage,” Curley said. “Sports, especially professional sports, are the most exclusive organization you’re ever going to get. If you can’t shoot, you don’t make the team. If you don’t shoot well enough, you sit on the bench. If you shoot well and you play defense, you start, and they’ve got a bunch of other players that are waiting to start as well. Very exclusive.”

The controversy grew larger after Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham told ESPN she wanted to protect girls’ and women’s sports from biological male competitors. The WNBA Players’ Association responded with a statement that the union “embraces justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion” and wouldn’t be “used as a political pawn.”

Curley rejected the union’s statement, noting the league’s extensive record of political engagement, from dedicating its 2020 season to Breonna Taylor to players campaigning for Raphael Warnock against then-Atlanta Dream co-owner and U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler.

“You can’t all of a sudden say you’re not political,” Curley said. “History is the greatest teacher.”

Curley draws parallels to Reagan, the Black Panthers and the Satanic Temple

Curley argued the WNBA is replaying a pattern seen several times in history where a group supports a broad principle, then watches opponents use it against them.

He mentioned California’s open-carry debate in the late 1960s, when the National Rifle Association supported the right to carry firearms in public, until the Black Panthers showed up armed at the state Capitol and then-Governor Ronald Reagan reversed his course.

Curley also likened the situation to Florida Governor Rick Scott’s 2012 bill allowing religious “inspirational messages” at school events, which the Satanic Temple used to stage its own rally at the Capitol.

“If it’s okay for one group, it’s got to be okay for the other group,” Curley said. “If not, then you got some explaining to do.”

Curley, who said he is a former Seattle Storm season ticket holder, urged the league to draw a clear line before the situation worsens.

“Take a lesson from Reagan and from Rick Scott, and back up, put your tail between your legs, and say the W in WNBA stands for women, and we know what a woman is, and we know what a man is, and just because you identify as a woman doesn’t make you a woman, and we are exclusive,” Curley said. “This is the place you can come and watch great female athletes play basketball, and that’s it, and be done with it.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

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