Legendary WNBA Star Demands NCAA Protect Transgender Athletes
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JULY 27: Sue Bird (L) of the Seattle Storm and soccer player Megan Rapinoe attend the WNBA All-Star Game 2019 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on July 27, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
WNBA legend Sue Bird is one of more than 400 current and former athletes who signed an open letter sent to the NCAA on Tuesday advocating for the protection of transgender athletes.
The letter, which was also signed by Bird's fiancée, former USWNT star Megan Rapinoe, calls for transgender athletes to be allowed to compete under the gender they identify with.
Four other WNBA players--Layshia Clarendon, Cheryl Reeve, Natalia Achonwa and Brianna Turner--also signed the letter, as did current and former USWNT members Becky Sauerbrunn, Tierna Davidson, Samantha Mewis, Joanna Lohman, Lynn Williams and Sam Coffey.
"We, the undersigned, call upon the NCAA, a governing body meant to serve athletes and our wellbeing, to ensure that the lifesaving power of sport is accessible to all athletes who compete in championship and emerging sports at and for NCAA-member institutions – including transgender athletes," the letter reads. "To deny transgender athletes the fundamental right to be who they are, to access the sport they love, and to receive the proven mental and physical health benefits of sport goes against the very principles of the NCAA’s Constitution.
"By barring transgender athletes, you would be severely limiting the capacity of your member institutions to protect and support their athletes. Moreover, you would be actively disparaging transgender athletes – the same athletes you chose to protect when you agreed to serve on the Board of Governors."
The letter also takes aim at a lawsuit filed against the NCAA in March by current and former college athletes who claim their Title IX rights were violated by having to compete against transgender women.
"Anti-trans legislation is largely fueled by propaganda and deception," the letter argues. "Media has framed former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines as the cisgender woman who lost a national championship race at the hands of the NCAA’s transgender athlete participation policies. In fact, she tied transgender woman Lia Thomas for 5th place at the 2022 NCAA National Championships. Four other women (all of whom are cisgender) also beat Gaines, preventing her from taking the podium."
The letter concludes by saying that allowing transgender athletes "to participate in the sports they love as who they truly are alongside their teammates fulfills the true spirit of Olympism we all ascribe to."
