Liz Wheeler takes stance on biological males being allowed to play in WNBA after Dawn Staley's comments

Political commentator Liz Wheeler has voiced her opposition to the inclusion of biological males in the WNBA, claiming that it would put women at a biological disadvantage and potentially marginalize them in their own sport.

Wheeler's comments came in light of South Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley, who recently said that she supports transgender athletes competing in women's sports.

In a tweet, Wheeler expressed that every WNBA player should be asked about the matter.

“Every WNBA player should be asked: ‘Do you think biological men who identify as women should be allowed to play women’s basketball?’” she said.

She proposed that if the answer is yes, players should be asked if they believe they will still have a job when men enter the WNBA, implying that women would be pushed out of women's basketball in such a scenario.

“If they say ‘yes’ then ask: ‘Do you think you’ll have a job when men dominate the WNBA?’ Hint: NO, women will be pushed out of women’s bball,” she said.

According to an ESPN timeline, the NCAA implemented a policy allowing transgender athletes to participate in accordance with their gender identities in 2010.

This policy was amended on Jan. 19, 2022, to make it sport-specific, following guidelines set by each sport's national governing body, international federation or the 2015 Olympic standard.

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What did Dawn Staley say about allowing biological males to play in women's basketball & the WNBA?

Dawn Staley was asked about her stance on allowing transgender athletes to compete in women's sports after the South Carolina Gamecocks beat NC State in the Final Four to advance to the national championship game against Iowa.

She said:

"I'm of the opinion that if you're a woman, you should play. If you consider yourself a woman and you want to play sports, or vice versa, you should be able to play.”

Staley acknowledged that her response is controversial.

"So now the barnstormer people are going to flood my timeline and be a distraction to me on one of the biggest days of our game," she said. "And I'm okay with that. I really am."

Former WNBA player Val Whiting had earlier expressed her belief that transgender women should not participate in women's sports, citing concerns about fairness for biological women.

"A lot of my basketball sisters feel differently but trans women do not belong in women’s sports," Whiting said.

"It’s not fair nor safe for biological women. There has to be another solution for trans women to be able to compete athletically besides having them compete against biological women."

Staley and her team, the South Carolina Gamecocks, recently beat Caitlin Clark and the Iowa team to secure the NCAA women's championship.