Geno Auriemma Calls WNBA Transgender Athlete Debate a ‘Non-Issue’ as League Keeps Talking

Geno Auriemma says the increasingly heated debate over transgender athletes in the WNBA is focused on an eligibility situation the league is not currently facing.

The UConn women’s basketball coach addressed the controversy in an interview with TMZ Sports published Aug. 14, arguing that people are treating a hypothetical eligibility question as though it is already affecting WNBA competition.

“Why are we making a big issue over an issue that doesn’t exist?” Auriemma asked. He noted that he was unaware of any transgender women currently playing in the league or an immediate case requiring the WNBA to decide whether a particular player is eligible.

An anti-hate task force of team presidents and general managers met Aug. 12 and discussed transgender athletes along with online abuse directed at players, but the meeting produced no new eligibility rules.

Auriemma Says the Focus Should Be on the Players

Auriemma acknowledged that people are entitled to different opinions about transgender participation in women’s sports. His objection was to the amount of attention being devoted to a question he does not see as an immediate WNBA problem.

Auriemma went further by suggesting that some people benefit personally from keeping the controversy in the spotlight. He said attention should be directed toward the basketball already being played: the athletes, teams and younger stars who have entered the league.

The WNBA Task Force Did Not Change Its Eligibility Rules

The WNBA’s Aug. 12 meeting produced no immediate policy change. According to ESPN, the task force discussed transgender athletes along with the continued hate and abuse directed at WNBA players online.

The league said there are “no immediate eligibility matters affecting the WNBA” and that discussions with teams, players and other stakeholders will continue in the coming weeks and months. It also denounced efforts to use the issue to demean or marginalize people.

The current collective bargaining agreement, signed in March, states that only women are eligible to play in the WNBA. ESPN reported that the publicly available language does not provide a more specific definition governing transgender or intersex eligibility, and the league has not publicly clarified how that provision would apply in every circumstance.

No known transgender woman has ever played in the WNBA. Two players who have identified as nonbinary, Layshia Clarendon and AD Durr, have competed in the league, both were assigned female at birth.

Players and Coaches Have Taken Different Positions

The broader debate intensified after Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham publicly supported restricting transgender girls and women from girls’ and women’s sports. Cunningham told ESPN in July that she rejected accusations that her position amounted to hatred toward transgender people. She said she wanted to extend love while also advocating for what she views as protections for girls in sports.

Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve has publicly taken a different position. “I come from a space of inclusion,” Reeve told reporters in August, arguing that transgender athletes should not be portrayed as the biggest problem facing women’s sports. She said discussions about elite competition after puberty require nuance but that inclusion should remain part of the goal.

The Women’s National Basketball Players Association has also emphasized inclusion while condemning hate and abuse directed at transgender people. The union said difficult conversations can continue without turning players or marginalized groups into political targets.

The issue received considerably more attention after former NBA players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White announced that they intended to enter the 2027 WNBA Draft and said they identify as women. The league has not ruled that either qualifies for the draft, which is not scheduled until April 2027.

Auriemma’s UConn Dynasty Is Getting an Apple TV Docuseries

Auriemma’s TMZ interview comes shortly before the release of The Dynasty: UConn Huskies, a three-part documentary series examining the program he has led for more than four decades.

The Apple TV series traces UConn’s rise under Auriemma and features interviews with generations of Huskies stars, including Rebecca Lobo, Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Breanna Stewart and Paige Bueckers.

Apple describes the series as an examination of how Auriemma built the program into a dynasty that has won 12 national championships, as well as the expectations and pressure that followed that sustained success. The Dynasty: UConn Huskies premieres globally on Apple TV on Aug. 21.