The debate over transgender-identifying athletes in women’s sports continued Sunday as Golden State Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase defended men competing in women’s sports.
The reigning WNBA Coach of the Year said sports are about “inclusivity.”
“For me, sports is about belonging. It’s about inclusivity. It’s about allowing everyone to be their authentic self,” Nakase said when asked about the recent Sophie Cunningham comments on the subject. “I’m all about women, little girls deserving to play, and that includes trans women.”
Cunningham, a guard with the Indiana Fever, recently spoke out against men competing in women’s sports. Since then, she’s had support, but also multiple WNBA coaches rejecting her position that women’s sports should be reserved for biological females.
Nakase joins the list of coaches who have recently been asked their stance on the controversy. Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White, Minnesota Lynx Coach Cheryl Reeve, and Portland Fire coach Alex Sarama have all opined in the last few days.
White previously said she did not feel “educated enough from a scientific point” to weigh in on the issue.
“I don’t know that I would say that I’m educated enough from a scientific standpoint,” White said Friday. “I don’t ever believe that exclusion is an answer. I just don’t.”
RELATED: Sophie Cunningham’s Coach Asked Where She Stands On Men In Women’s Sports
Whereas White fell back on her education, or lack thereof, Nakase cited criticism she has faced over her height and ethnicity as shaping her views.
“I’m big on that because I have been criticized for my height, for my ethnicity. I’ve been in those ‘you shouldn’t belong here’ many times, and for me I don’t want that space, especially Golden State, to ever feel like that,” Nakase said.
The coaches are being pressed as the place for the latest rallies on the issue has shifted to outside WNBA arenas.
Sunday’s game between the Minnesota Lynx and the Indiana Fever drew the largest gathering of Cunningham supporters, including Riley Gaines, Michele Tafoya, and Jennifer Sey, as well as a crowd of pro-trans protesters.
Security had to step in outside of the Target Center in Minneapolis when a pro-trans activist repeatedly grabbed and forcefully tried to take an “XX-XY” branded t-shirt from a Cunningham fan.
Dustin Gage posted the video of the altercation on X during the pre-game fan rally XX-XY’s, Sey’s athletic clothing company, hosted.
Cunningham has stood her ground, taking pictures with Gaines and Sey at Sunday’s game.
Sey told The Daily Wire she expects to see more Cunningham supporters as the WNBA season nears the end. Sey said there’s another rally in the works for the Fever’s game in Chicago on August 8.
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